Demon Dungeon 2

“Good morning~“

Murmur woke up with an exaggerated stretch and sat up in her new bed. She looked up at the lantern dangling above her, within which lay her dungeon’s core; the physical body of her beleaguered companion, Will.

“How did you sleep~?”

> First of all, I didn’t
> I don’t sleep
> Second of all
> It’s not morning
> It’s the middle of the day

“Aww~ You’re no fun~

“So~ Did anything interesting happen while I was napping~?”

> The imps dealt with more rats
> Unfortunatley, no more rat monsters appeared

“Unfortunately~?”

> Based on our last encounter, the imps are not capable of taking out a rat monster on their own
> I would have had to wake you up

“Mean~ You’re so mean, Will~ Super mean~”

Pouting, Murmur got off the bed and walked outside into the dungeon proper. The midday sun shown down on the former alley, hiding the dungeon’s yellow light with its own brilliance.

“Wow~ It’s so bright~! But it doesn’t really fit the mood, does it~? Hey~ Hey~ Can you make it always night in here~?”

> I can
> But changing the sky isn’t cheap
> We can’t afford it at this time

“Aww~ Oh well~ Lets work towards that next~ Heehee~ And then we’ll get a monster, okay~? I won’t forget~”

> I would greatly prefer getting a monster before a new skybox
> But I will take what I can -
> Something new has entered the dungeon

Before the Will’s last words faded away, a small child poked their head into the alley-turned-dungeon. From their tattered clothing and smudged face, they were most likely an inhabitant of the slum surrounding the dungeon.

“Oh~ My~ Satan~ It’s so cute~! Hey~ Hey little girl~ Are you lost~? Let big sister here take care of you~”

The small girl jumped as she noticed Murmur at the other end of the alley. She took a nervous step back, then burst into tears.

“Oh no~! Don’t cry~!”

Murmur rushed forward and kneeled down in front of the girl.

“Big sister isn’t scary, okay~ Are you hurt~? What’s wrong~?”

The girl looked up at Murmur with tears in her eyes, before slowly shaking her head.

“You’re not hurt~? That’s good~ Maybe you’re lost, then~? Did you lose your mommy~?”

The girl’s tears intensified as she frantically nodded.

“There there~ I’ll help you find her, okay~? You can trust big sister~

“I’ll wait here with you, okay~? Let’s wait here for your mommy~”

Murmur sat down and patted her lap. After a moment’s indecision, the girl sat and pressed herself up against Murmur’s chest.

“Good girl~ Big sister will wait here with you~ Are you hungry~? Are you thirsty~? I can get something for you if you want~”

The girl started to shake her head, then froze. Peaking out from a small nook was one of the imps. Murmur followed the girl’s gaze to the imp, then glared.

“Don’t worry~ That’s just one of big sister’s friends~ It won’t hurt you~ See~? It’s friendly~”

Withering slightly under Murmur’s glare, the imp slowly stepped out of the nook and approached the duo. It stopped once Murmur’s glare intensified and looked around as if wondering what on earth it was supposed to do. Being “friendly” was not the typical state of an imp.

Lacking any better ideas, it slowly leaned over, put its hands on the ground, and with a twitch of its wings flipped over into a handstand. It wobbles a bit, but quickly stabilized itself with it’s tail. It then somewhat awkwardly looked up at Murmur, hoping it had somehow helped the situation.

The fear in the girl’s eyes slowly faded, being replaced with shock, and then amazement. Forgetting that she had been crying just moments earlier, the girl started clapping enthusiastically. Buoyed by its newfound fame, the imp tried several other tricks, and soon the girl was laughing happily.

“Lily? Lily, are you there?”

An older woman’s voices echoed around a corner and the small girl, Lily, quickly stood up.

“Yay~ Your mommy came~ You were really brave, waiting for her so nicely~ Don’t wait for me~ Go and see her~ And you’re always welcome back here, okay~?”

Lily smiled, nodded quickly, then ran off. The imp, freed from its entertainment duties, went back to its nook.

> ...
> I did not expect you to handle that so well

“Heehee~ I like kids~ They’re so cute, you know~? I’m glad she found her mommy~”

> Yes...
> I suppose I am glad as well