Disclaimer:
DanMachi was created by Fujino Omori. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses reference material from them.

Demons of the Dungeon
By: RB3
Chaos in Orario 1: Ascent of the Demon King

In the furthest reaches of the multiverse was the Expanse, an endless void which extended infinitely like a vast sea of redness. It was the product of the emotions of countless humans in billions and billions of worlds. It was home to an infinitely large number of demons, born from the mythologies and systems of human belief. In this soupy, crimson chaos, a metal object like a silver cigar passed through. The silver cigar pulsed numerous electromagnetic waves, scanning the chaos for any oddities or unusual activity.

A demon, a starfish-like creature with a single eye, swam through this crimson sea en route to an unknown world. An eddy formed and swallowed the starfish, disappearing as quickly as it came. The silver cigar immediately changed course and approached the former location of the vanished eddy. It remained, trying to scan the area for any clues as to what might have created that eddy. Moments later, one eddy, then another two, formed and disappeared as quickly as they came.

The silver cigar, a probe, remained in the area to monitor. The image of a disc-like galaxy appeared in the chaos, as though it was behind a translucent film. It appeared to be the source of these eddies. A floating mass of land approached, drawn to these eddies. It was an island which traversed the crimson chaos like a ship. On the top of this island stood a single stone ziggurat. Near the temple were several small, tent-like structures around its base.

While the ziggurat was of ancient, Babylonian construction, the tents were modern, less permanent structures. Numerous soldiers and demons milled about the island's surface, protected from the ravages of the Expanse by a protective blue barrier. Inside the temple was a young man in a blue, hooded jacked and a white cap. He monitored the readings from the probe on a computer. His name was Atsuro Kihara, a technological wizard.

His friend, a young man dressed in a black cloak, approached. "What did you find?" asked the cloaked young man.

"Someone was summoning demons in this area. A Decarabia answered the summons," replied Atsuro. "Whoever's doing it, they're doing a bad job. They're dragging their world closer to the Expanse. Soon, portals are going to open up all by themselves."

"Which would mean demons would have a route into their world, even if they aren't summoned," replied the man in black, who was named Saemon Ichihara. He was also known as Abel, the King of Bel, a demon overlord in command of a horde of demons.

"Yep, if this keeps up, it's open season," replied Atsuro.

A young woman in glasses moved closer to see. "We can't let that happen!" said the woman, Midori Komaki.

"No, we can't," replied Saemon. "If YHVH or Lucifer start meddling, it will be a mess."

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Some time later, the island stopped near where the eddies were discovered. By now, the region had three permanently open eddies, or portals to the Expanse. Even now, these mysterious demon summoners were trying to call to demons to their world. Two dozen Decarabia went into one of the eddies. Abel, Atsuro, and Midori passed through a portal on the island to pursue the Decarabia. Following them was a brunette girl in a pink top and blue skirt. She was named Yuzu Tanikawa.

On the other side was a vast medieval city built underground, judging from the rock which covered the region like a dome. Despite being underground, plants and trees could grow from the soil. They bathed in the light from crystals which hung overhead. Together, these crystals made up sun and sky for a place which had none. Abel's team stood face to face with the demons on the road. The Decarabia spewed jets of flame at Abel and friends. They scattered and immediately called demons of their own to battle.

One of the Decarabia spewed flame at Midori. She took up a defensive stance. Rather than be incinerated, Midori absorbed the flames. "That won't work," said Midori.

She then hurled a blast of light which knocked back the Decarabia. A small black snowman named Black Frost dropped in from above. Decarabia dove away, letting him to plunge his fist into the ground and crack it. Decarabia sprayed him with flame, but the attack exposed a red barrier and got turned back against its source. As the Decarabia stumbled back from its attack, Midori sent a blast of light after it, fatally searing it. The Decarabia dissolved in a burst of darkness.

Yuzu evaded a jet of fire, then hurled an air blade and sliced the Decarabia in half. She then noticed that some of the demons were fleeing to the south. "They're trying to escape!" cried Yuzu.

"I'm following Yuzu's group. You two finish up here," said Abel.

"Okay, gotcha!" said Midori.

Abel and Yuzu pursued the demons to the edge of town. Yuzu's team split from the group in an attempt to flank the demons. Abel chased the demons to water, where they had nowhere left to run. Yuzu's team appeared beside them, cutting off another avenue of escape. "Nowhere to run," said Abel.

Cornered, the Decarabia spewed fire at the two. Abel raised a barrier of violet light as a defence. He then called in a demon resembling a mass of glowing white orbs. The demon, Yog-Sothoth, rained orbs down upon the Decarabia. Try as they might to escape, several got crushed underneath. The others tried to force through Yuzu's position, only to be cut down by her blades of wind. However, one managed to slip past her and her demons.

A red-haired succubus appeared before it and blasted it with a jet of flame. The Decarabia got knocked to the ground. After it got up, Yuzu's golden, rooster-like demon, Vidofnir, gazed at the Decarabia with eyes glowing grey. The Decarabia turned to stone instantly and fell onto its back. With an air blade, Yuzu shattered it to numerous pieces. "That takes care of that," said Yuzu.

"Yeah, let's regroup with the others," said Abel.

Abel and Yuzu found their friends outside of the city, surrounded by small black smouldering patches of dirt and potholes. "We cleared the demons, but a group of goblins spawned out of the ground and attacked us before you came back," said Atsuro.

"They dropped these glowing purple stones," said Midori, holding them up for her friends to see.

Abel took one of the stones and studied it with a critical eye. Yuzu did the same. "I can feel energy coming from it," remarked Yuzu.

"Yeah," said Abel.

"The comps says these things store the goblins' life force," said Atsuro.

"Let's return to base and think of our next move," said Abel.

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Time passed and the military force had erected a beachhead within the medieval city. The military force was a group of colonists known as the Babelites. They were originally from Japan, and had mastered the ability to summon and command demons by way of handheld devices called comps. This powerful new capability caused a shift in society akin to the Industrial Revolution. As part of its rise, Japan took the lead in exploring and colonizing the Expanse, leading to the construction of Babel Colony after its central tower.

Before Babel Colony's rise, demons had invaded Japan. It was at this time that the comps were created. The invasion was resolved in a week, with Abel taking his place as King of Bel, ruler of the demons. After that, demon technology spread, then came efforts to colonize the Expanse. As the Babelites explored the Expanse, they learned of worlds other than theirs. Such worlds were coveted by the demonic factions of Law and Chaos, who fought an eternal, multiversal struggle for dominance.

The forward base was constructed out of the nearby castle. It was known as Sunstone Castle, following the sign on the city's front entrance, which identified it as Sunstone City. A chainlink fence topped with barbed wire enclosed Sunstone Castle, keeping out intruders. In the town proper, Atsuro operated a computer which scanned the local environment. From the readouts, the cavern was actually the 65th floor of an underground labyrinth of at least 75 floors.

"75?" asked Yuzu.

"Yeah, my scanner can't penetrate F74, so I'm guessing at least one more floor is below it," replied Atsuro. "This place is kind of like those dungeons you see in RPGs."

"Is that so?" asked Abel.

"Uhuh," replied Atsuro. "So, when in Rome, do like the Romans do. We're going to explore the Dungeon!"

"That sounds cool, like we're adventurers!" said Midori.

"That sounds dangerous," said Yuzu.

"Get this, my scanner detects people on the higher floors," said Atsuro.

"People? Like human beings?" asked Yuzu.

"Maybe we can meet them and find out more about their world," said Midori.

"We might alarm them with our presence," warned Abel. "It's best if we approach the demon problem quietly, so as to not cause too much of a disturbance."

"So a stealth mission?" asked Yuzu.

"Yeah, and I think I should do this one solo," replied Abel. "If too many people go, it'll draw too much attention."

"Will you be okay?" asked Yuzu. "You know monsters spawn out of the Dungeon. We don't even know if the people above will be friendly."

"I'll be fine," replied Abel, giving Yuzu a hug. "I'll set up portals back home, so it will be easy for us to move around the Dungeon. You don't need to worry, honey."

Abel's succubus, Scarlet, appeared and embraced Yuzu. "Don't worry, I'll be with Abel darling the whole time. I'll use stealth magic to keep us hidden," said Scarlet.

"I'll be constant contact with him, as well, providing back up," said Atsuro.

"Okay, stay safe," said Yuzu. "Come home safe and sound."

"Yeah, good luck," said Midori.

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After some preparation, Abel began his departure from Sunstone City on F65 of the Dungeon. There was a tunnel upward towards the north of the city, where his friends saw him off. They waved to each other for several seconds before Abel turned and ascended the floor. In F64, he had entered a large, mountainous area. Further in, he saw a mural of a large dragon on a patch of flat rock. The mural gave off a magical aura about it and appeared to be containing the dragon it depicted.

After Yog flew him westward, he came upon a cabin with a series of five graves beside it. From the names on the headstones, they were the graves of the Dragonslayer family. Their members included the parents, two children, and the family pet. Abel continued west and passed a small hallway which turned into the north entrance of a large circular room. A group of black skeletons emerged from the ground. All of these monsters were armed with melee weapons and wore plate armour.

With a wave of his hand, Abel had frozen the skeletons. After a few seconds of crackling, the skeletons shattered violently, scattering ice-coated bone all over the ground. The skeletal remains vanished, leaving magic stones which Abel gathered up through telekinesis. He continued onward through several more circular rooms which resembled the first and found a staircase upwards. He emerged in a large underground cavern of dirt. It appeared to be a burrow for a monster.

A white, rabbit-like creature tunnelled through the wall and stood in front of Abel. The red-eyed creature glared at Abel, brandishing a battle axe. It stood almost twenty feet tall, the largest rabbit he had ever seen. "I take it you're the boss of this area?" asked Abel.

The creature rushed at him, as though it took offence to his comment. Abel teleported away, puzzling the rabbit. He then tore a hole into reality, creating a black void over the rabbit. The rabbit got disintegrated in a bloody haze, each rapidly diminishing piece consumed by the void. "She shouldn't have been so mean to you, darling," said Scarlet telepathically.

Abel continued onward and with every few floors, the environment changed drastically. Eventually, Abel came close to the tunnel to F50. "There are living people here," said Abel, feeling their movements.

"Okay darling, I'll hide you," said Scarlet.

Under Scarlet's power, Abel was shifted out of phase with the physical world. In this space between worlds, everything seemed more translucent and faded. He continued up to F50, passing by a trio of people standing guard by the tunnel entrance. Two were male and the third a female. However, one of the men appeared to have ears like a dog, being a hybrid of that animal and a human. "Looks like we stop here. Only the elite of our Familia can go beyond," said the male warrior.

Abel passed by the girl. "Did you feel a draft?" asked the bespectacled girl.

"Yeah," replied the dog-man. "I hope this is quick. I don't want to catch a cold."

Abel moved to an occupied cliff overlooking F50. There were people camped in this area, all of whom wore clothing ideal for travelling. Nearly all of them had weapons visible on their person. They appeared to be adventurers, people from who delved into the Dungeon to explore it and claim its riches. Abel passed by a flag with a clown-like emblem, the insignia of their group, likely what that guard meant by his "Familia."

"Abel darling, let's get the portal set up," said Scarlet telepathically.

"Right," replied Abel.

He located an area in the south side of F50, far from the eyes of the Familia which occupied the floor. He found a small cave hidden in the midst of a group of rocky outcroppings. In the cave, he had formed a swirling vortex of light, which faded as quickly as it came. F50 was now to linked to Sunstone City on F65 via a pair of portals at each end. With it, he and the rest of the Babelites could come and go as they pleased.

Abel returned to the camp, where he mingled among the people undetected. He found a command tent in the heart of the camp, where a short humanoid being, a Prum, sat upon crates like a lord in purple. Abel focused supernatural senses on the Prum and learned that his name was Finn. With him was a dwarven man and a green-haired, elven woman. "Gareth, you will take Ais, Tione, Tiona, Bete, and Riveria with you," Finn commanded.

"Of course," replied Gareth, the dwarven warrior.

"This will be our last excursion into the deeper floors," said Finn. "After this, we'll head back up to Orario."

The dwarf and elf made their way out of the tent to fetch their companions. Abel left the tent and explored the camp in secret. From eavesdropping on the Familia's chatter, he learned that there was a city known as Orario at the top of the Dungeon, on the ground floor. It acted like a gathering place for adventurers, with living quarters and stores for supplying their operations. There was also a Guild there which managed adventurers and provided them important services.

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Abel continued on his way up the Dungeon. Upon reaching F37, he came upon a large hallway with white walls like the rest of the floor. The ground started to shake, heralding the appearance of a powerful monster. This creature, the black animate skeleton of a devil, emerged from the ground. It was a floating torso, having no legs with which to use for locomotion. Its magic stone was in its rib cage, about where its heart should be. Abel's supernatural senses determined that this creature, Udaeus, was the boss of the area.

Abel sprayed a blast of ice from his hand. Udaeus reared back to strike with its sword, but was caught first by the ice. A glistening, crystalline coating formed over its body. The coating covered it so completely that Udaeus became an ice statue. Abel balled his fist, causing the ice to shatter and Udaeus along with it. The magic stone tumbled to the ground, fortunate to not have been damaged by the impact. Abel secured the stone and continued on his way.

As Abel ascended the Dungeon, he started to see more and more adventurers exploring the upper floors. Since the monsters here were weaker than the ones below, it was natural. Adventurers on the deeper floors were the elite, the cream of the crop. For this last leg, Abel relied on Scarlet's stealth to avoid being seen. On F18, he found another safe zone where no monsters spawned. He went into a small cave hidden behind a plateau, where he established a portal to F65.

Eventually, he reached the surface, where Orario stood. He passed through a reception area of the Dungeon, run by a group of workers in dress clothing. When he got outside, Abel relished the chance to finally see natural light. He returned in phase with the physical world, to see the sights as they naturally were. The city of Orario was dominated by a central tower in a spacious, circular town square, which effectively capped the Dungeon.

"Yuzu, can you hear me?" asked Abel through telepathy.

"Yes," replied Yuzu. "Did you get to the top?"

"Yeah," replied Abel. "I'm going to set up a portal in a hidden area, then I'll complete the last leg of my infiltration."

"Okay, good luck and stay safe," said Yuzu.

He continued on his way to the city's eastern outskirts to search for a suitable location to establish his portal connection. As he moved down the street, he sensed someone's eyes trying to scan him. He turned around and glanced about, from west to east, from the top of the tower to the bottom. Even reaching out with supernatural senses, he could not determine who tried to scan him, or where he or she was.

He continued onward and found a good portal site in an abandoned mine a short ways out of Orario in the hills. Inside the rocky tunnel, he opened a swirling vortex to Sunstone City. For the next phase, Abel created a grey-haired clone of himself. This avatar looked much like his normal self, mixed with some of the traits of his cousin, Naoya. The avatar was dressed in a blue tunic and baggy black pants like those worn by men of the Sengoku period.

Since the avatar looked similar to, but not exactly like Abel, the two could be mistaken for brothers easily. Abel dubbed his avatar Kazuya Minegishi, or Kaz for short. Kaz was linked to his master and could relay any information he discovered during his infiltration. Abel gave Kaz all of the gold bars he was carrying to use as seed money to carry out the infiltration. Kaz left the portal site to Abel and his demons until the land was purchased legitimately.

Kaz continued into the city, following the road down into town from the east. Asking around, he was directed to the main Guild building, a mansion-like structure called the Pantheon. He found a bespectacled, half-elf brunette behind a counter. "Hello, I'm a new adventurer. I wish to register with the Guild," said Kaz.

"Of course, I'm Eina Tulle. I'll be your advisor for your exploration of the Dungeon," said Eina. "Do you have a Familia?"

"Not yet," admitted Kaz.

"Okay, that's fine. For now, I'd stay on the top two floors," replied Eina. "You'll need to join a Familia before you go deeper."

"I understand," replied Kaz.

"Please fill out this form," said Eina.

Kaz took the form and filled it out, writing his personal information in Japanese in the blank spaces. When he returned it to Eina, she had to hand it off to a Far Eastern member of the Guild to translate for her. "Is everything okay?" asked Kaz.

"Yeah, you wrote the form in the language of the Far East, so I had to get help to translate it," said Eina. "Sorry about the wait. Everything's fine, you're good to go."

"Thank you Ms. Tulle," replied Kaz, taking a copy of his completed forms. His form had translations written in brackets by the translator.

"Just call me Eina, no need for such formality," replied Eina. "If you're looking to join a Familia, you might want to ask the Take Mikazuchi Familia. Their members were originally from the Far East."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," said Kaz. "For now, I've got to get my affairs in order. I'm new in town, after all."

"Good luck Kaz and happy hunting," said Eina.

Kaz travelled around town looking for an appropriate place to live in, as well as a location he could cash in his bars of gold. He eventually found a local goldsmith's shop, where he sold his gold for almost 100,000 Valis, the local currency, which took the form of gold coins. He then found and rented a nice small apartment near the Market Area, a perfect distance away for making trips to buy needed provisions and gear. After preparing his home, he bought groceries at a local store and stored them in the refrigerator.

Unlike back home, the technology of this land ran on magic stones from the Dungeon, then treated through an unknown process. His fridge had a compartment for such a stone in its back, which powered its cooling capabilities. His home was lit by lamps which used the stones as a light bulb. After cooking and eating a simple dinner of fried beef, rice, and vegetables, Kaz went to the market. He searched out the Market Area for a good deal on equipment for his first trip into the Dungeon.

He purchased a nice blue brigandine and a simple dagger from a local arms vendor. From the nearby provisioner, he bought a few bottles of healing ointment and a bag to carry his provisions and looted magic stones. As he looked at this array of provisions, he felt a sense of eagerness and anticipation. He was about to take on the Dungeon, a dangerous task. He did not know what lay in the future, only that he would face it without fear.

END OF CHAPTER