Dungeon Raider System

The presence of the horror rank eclipse hiding in Mark's skin threw a monkey wrench on Uriel's plans. His past confidence wasn't baseless, given that he carefully calculated all the possibilities and was ready to face almost anything Mark could have in store for him, but he didn't anticipate the eclipse still being inside him.

Facing Mark who was a heavenly rank hunter like Uriel himself, but also a vampire hybrid was one thing. The strength boost and the instant regeneration of vampires might make things more difficult, but Uriel knew vampires became weaker under UV light and their regenerative ability was cancelled when in contact with wood.

However, he knew little about eclipses, let alone a horror rank one and it changed things entirely.

To add insult to injury, Mark let him know that he kept tabs on him this whole time which spoiled the element of surprise.

In just a moment, Uriel went from having the upper hand in spite of appearances, to being completely helpless and surrounded by enemies. He wasn't strong enough, he wasn't prepared enough and his options were limited.

"What is that thing doing here?" Uriel said through his gritting teeth.

"From your actions, it's clear you knew about the skinwalkers. Good job ruining their operation in the east district by the way. You also caused a ruckus in the hospital and the Fallen corp. took a heavy, but momentary, hit on the supply chain thanks to that. You also obviously know about vampires, but judging by your look it's obvious you didn't know about eclipses."

"The west district! Vampires to the north, Skinwalkers to the east, Wendigos to the south and Eclipses in the west!" Uriel gasped.

"That's not correct. Cryptids and hybrids alike are confined in their district, but eclipses are an exception since they can't control their host's actions." Mark explained.

"Like I would believe something like that." Uriel scoffed.

"We are allowed anywhere in the city, that's how we know of your every move. The guard who allowed you inside, the nurse on the hospital and even the driver that took you here. We are everywhere." The cryptid spoke with a somber tone, which was very strange coming from Mark's voice.

"So, you're saying you had many chances to kill me. What a lame threat." Uriel grunted, wondering about the reason why his mystical sense didn't detect those creatures.

"Kill you? Why would we want to kill you. Neither cryptids nor hybrids want this city to be destroyed, we all depend on each other for survival and I spent eons trapped inside that nasty book. I know it's hard to believe, but I just want to live a peaceful life with my host. That's why I asked my spawns to stay out of your way and protect you if necessary."

"Protect me?" Uriel asked, now in complete confusion. All the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place at a speed so high he could barely make anything out of it until suddenly Mark's story became more and more believable.

"There will be time to explain things, but we need your help to release us." Mark, or maybe the eclipse, spoke with anxiety.

"Release you?" Uriel echoed.

"He needs to kill the horror rank vampire, but he can't move against him because he's his Sire. All the vampires in this place and directly under Mark's control, but that means they're also under the Nosferatu's control.

It doesn't matter how strong they are, if we take them to fight him, they'll turn against us even against their will." Tina, who didn't seem surprised by Mark's transformation and remained calm the whole time, explained.

"That's why I want to make a deal with you. I need you to kill the horror rank vampire, so we can finally be free from his command. In exchange, I'll support your efforts to liberate this city from the Fallen corp.

In this device you'll find proof of all of Sam's wrongdoings with pictures, specific information and irrefutable data that will allow you to expose him in front of everyone." Mark said as he handed Uriel the USB drive.

"And you're handing this to me before I even agree out of generosity?" Uriel lifted an eyebrow as he gazed at Mark with suspicion.

"This is just a copy, besides, even if you don't agree to help me I still want to save this city and you're the only one so stubborn to do it. Besides, the Lightbringer ordered to kill whoever tries to expose his operation except for you."

Just hearing that Sam didn't want him killed was enough to spark a glimmer of hope in Uriel, who never lost sight of his true objective which was to save his friend from Water warlock's influence in spite of the convoluted turn of events.

"Sam..." Uriel muttered, but his hopes were cut short.

"This might be difficult to hear, but he said he wants to take everything from you. I didn't want to tell you this unless you believed me, but he's the one pushing me to marry Tina." Mark added, thinking Uriel might become angry, but he didn't show the slightest interest about that matter. Something that Tina didn't miss and she lowered her gaze even more.

"Fine, I'll agree to this 'deal', but I have a few conditions. First, I'll require a symbolic payment of 1 million credits for my troubles. Second, you said you're in control of the eclipses and I want you to get them all to cover the sun when I give the signal. Third, I'll need all the information you can provide about the cryptids inside this city, particularly their weakness."

"It's all on the USB, you can check it now if you like." A smile formed on Mark's face as he replied and Uriel thought it was the first time he saw him smile genuinely instead of his accustomed shit eating grin.

In spite of the extensive explanation and all the facts provided by Mark adding up, Uriel still distrusted him, but decided to confirm it anyway. He saw no harm in checking right then and there if what he said was true and connected the USB drive directly to his smartphone.

Soon after, the pictures and spreadsheets that proved Sam's illegal and immoral actions appeared on the screen. Uriel didn't have the time to check each,. but they seemed legit. However, he was now looking for something specific.

'Skinwalkers are shapeshifting creatures that consume the skin of their victims to impersonate them. They are weak in complete darkness. Kill with silver.

Vampires pass as humans except for their fangs, they feed on human blood and spend it to regenerate their flux energy. Wood stops regeneration, UV light weakens them. Kill with wood stakes, cauterizing their wounds stops them works too.

Wendigos are crazed with hunger, they feed on any kind of flesh. Kill by decapitation.

Eclipses are symbiotic creatures able to take control of their host if in danger or if the host allows it. They can only possess willing hosts. They can erase parts of their host's memory so they forget they're possessed. In the wild, they usually work along with other cryptids to protect themselves since they don't have any means to defend themselves. Kill by separating them from their host.'

After finishing his silent reading, the only thing Uriel could think of for a few seconds was how happy it would make Luna if she got her hands into this. There wasn't much new information, but it was provided by a cryptid. Then, Uriel realized that, most likely, Luna would pester him about getting a hybrid subject to experiment and to interrogate.

Just thinking of that possibility made Uriel pity the poor soul that might end up in her hands.

"How long does it take for an eclipse to die when separated from its host?"

"It depends on the rank and how long have they been with their host. If a certain amount of time passes and they're not compatible, the eclipse will attempt to consume the host and look for a more viable one." The eclipse replied with Mark's voice.

Even if the cryptid was lying, Uriel figured it wouldn't be long until he got the chance to test it and decided not to press further. So far, Mark had been truthful about everything and planting seeds of distrust now in between them was pointless.

The deal he made with Mark was a betrayal to their race for both parties involved. Cryptids weren't supposed to disclose any secrets from their own or other races and humans weren't supposed to make any kind of deal with those foul creatures.

More so, working along with Mark was an absurd idea, especially considering Uriel went there to kill him in the first place, but the most convenient thing for him was to agree.

Finally, Uriel shook Mark's hands as soon as he received the million credits he asked for. His crumpled face showed how disgusted he was by working with him, but there was much more to gain than he had to lose.

"We'll be coming with you." Tina said as she followed Uriel and Soulfire out of the nightclub.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I can't quite put my finger on it," Uriel said as the first beams of sunlight appeared on the skyline. Then, a chain of explosions caused by the C4 planted on the nightclub ceiling by Miss Dragonfang and Longlegs shook the earth. "Oh, that." Uriel muttered and continued on his way, followed by Soulfire, Tina and the tracker huntress.