Chapter Eleven
"I worked with him at a cafe in Swansea," Usiku said as we helped Lana lie down on the bed. I had used my robe to bandage her wound. "Then I was here. He brought me from that life of drudgery and gave me something amazing." Grief flashed across her face.
"You loved him?"
She nodded, her eyes blinking. "But I am still your servant. Don't think I'm not." She touched my chest, the square Glyph of Darkness. "I can sense you're a good man. I want to serve you. He made mistakes. I won't betray you. I can't."
"So he's from England," I said, shaking my head.
"Welsh," she corrected. "The United Kingdom, not England. That's a different part of the country."
"Sorry," I said, giving her a brief smile. Then I groaned. "I need to do some work. Heal her. Restore my will o' wisps."
"They were brave fighters," said Usiku. "But we were prepared for them. We were watching Astovin and spotted you and Lana there. We followed you back and figured out your magic. I didn't give them much of a chance. They're low-level monster girls. They are not well-matched against companions like myself or your Lana."
I nodded, feeling drained. Empty. I had killed a man. It was self-defense, but I had been so wild. So angry. So out of control there at the end. Nothing had mattered to me
but
killing him. I just had to stab his dagger over and over into his body.
I sighed and stumbled into the vault room. My Void Crystal hummed away as it drew in mana. Souleen appeared on it. She gave me this concerned look. Such motherly love and warmth in her eyes as she quivered atop of it.
"I'm so sorry, Leo," she said. "I didn't want you to have to do that so soon."
I just nodded. "That's what I'll have to do again and again? They'll keep coming for me?"
She hesitated. "Yes. Other Dungeon Builders, and the heroes. They either want your power or to stop you from growing it."
"Why?" I asked. Something brittle broke in my voice. "Why was I brought here and put in this position?"
Souleen gave me a helpless look. "I don't know. Besides to protect me, I really don't know." She floated up to me. "But you did protect me. Thank you, my Lord." She kissed me on the lips with her dainty ones.
I sighed and then I grabbed the Crystal. I had work to do. The moment I did, I felt the connection to Lana and to Usiku. I could restore their injuries. Usiku's throat throbbed from Lana's attack, while my poor movie starlet had a deep wound to her guts.
I repaired it, restoring the perfection of her flesh.
"Thank you, Leo," Lana called from the other room.
I only nodded as I felt the reserve of will o' wisps I could make. I sensed the souls of my six dead ones. I concentrated and they flashed into appearance around me. Sviesos first, then the others. Their busty breasts heaved as they appeared.
"Lord Leo!" each one cried out and threw herself at me to hug me and kiss my cheeks or lips, heedless of the blood on me. Each one apologized for their failure.
"You didn't fail," I told them, meaning it. "I need to make better use of your abilities." I had to think about that. Design better dungeons. "Are you okay?"
Each one assured me she was.
I also found I could make another type of monster girl, wildhounds. They were darkness monster girls. I held off on that for the moment. There was another being I could create. Another companion like Lana Fulmine. A person drawn from my world and given a new body and purpose.
I shuddered at that. I didn't want to deal with that now. I hurt.
Instead, I created another room. Off my bedroom to the west, I carved out the space for a hot spring bath. I made a tiled room of soft blue, and filled it with a pool of steaming water. It bubbled up from deep below, warmed by the earth. It was a self-cleaning pool.
Then I removed the body from my dungeon. I dissolved Mthunzi's corpse into nothingness. I cleansed his blood away. From the floor. And my body. I wiped away all traces of him, even the dagger I killed him with.
Especially the dagger.
That done, I healed myself. I used the power to reshape reality in my dungeon to mend the blows to my head and collarbone. I sighed as the nausea in my stomach faded. The headache dwindled and then vanished.
I staggered out of the room and into the bedroom. Lana was sitting up. She still had golden blood smeared on her body, but she stretched, her gorgeous form flexing. Her round breasts heaved. She had a smoldering look in her blue eyes. Her golden hair spilled down around her face, little arcs of blue lightning crackling between her strands.
Beside her, Usiku smiled at me. The fomorian had large breasts that swayed with her every movement. Her figure was gorgeous. Lush. I could see why Mthunzi would have brought her to this world.
"What's through the new door, Leo?" Lana Fulmine asked.
"Relaxation," I said and marched to the door. I opened it and ushered them in.
"Oh, my, yes," Lana Fulmine said. "Washing with a bucket and cloth is not the same as luxuriating in warm, hot water."
"No," Usiku said. "Trust the man to forget about such comforts."
"Right?" Lana asked as she stepped towards the water.
"Wait, it's a Japanese style bath," I said. "Let's wash off before we get into the water. Then we can relax in it."
"We have to get Lord Leo scrubbed clean, Big Sis Lana," said Svyte. The will o' wisp picked up a bucket and a washcloth I had added to the room.
"And you, too, big sis," Gintaras added. "Let's get you nice and clean."
I sank down onto a stone bench and let Svyte and Zaibas run their hands over me. My will o' wisps had big smiles on their faces as they worked. They scrubbed my body with the washcloths, Zaibas rubbing my back and Svyte wiping at my face. They stroked me with their gentle touch. I smiled at the softness.
Svyte had a cute smile on her face as she worked. "Mmm, there you are, Lord Leo." She kissed me where I had been bleeding. "All better." She kissed me lower. "I'm so glad you're safe and hale. When I died, I was so worried."
"Worried?" I asked.
"In the crystal. I was supposed to be dreaming, but it was so hard knowing the dungeon was under attack."
"Right," Gintaras said as she wiped off the blood from Lana's stomach. Kibir worked on Lana's back. The other two will o' wisps were cleaning Usiku.