Dungeon Raider System

Chapter 72 : Madman

On top of the ancient pyramid of Kukulkan located within Chichén Itzá, a man was maniacally arguing with himself.

"Why is it not working!? I did everything right but it's not fucking working!"

Flanagan stood by himself surrounded by the corpses of the unfortunate bodyguards that followed him, even the field medic that betrayed Stella lied limp in the ground.

"It doesn't matter, there's still those two around, maybe it just needs more blood." He laughed. "And if it's not enough I can still bring more people later, whatever happens, as long as I have this bracelet I won't lose."

He laughed some more and then caressed the bracelet on his forearm with a grin.

"No, no, but what if they try to take it from me? I can't go back like this. I need to find it before someone gets ahead of me!"

Flanagan continued his monologue for a long while, not knowing he was being spied on by both Nika and Uriel from the hidden chamber located right next him. Although they couldn't see anything, his words were enough to make them realize they had been betrayed by Flanagan and they quickly retreated to the bottom of the ladder to discuss things without being spotted by Flanagan.

"What the fuck did that imbecile do?" Nika was outraged, visibly affected by the betrayal of her comrade.

"I told you that guy was sketchy."

"You don't understand, besides Walter, he was the closest to me in the Mapple corp. He was my first boss when I joined the company and... he was like an uncle to me." Nika covered her face with her hands and slid down the wall she was leaning on, sitting gracefully on the corner. After a couple of minutes of silence, she gathered herself and asked. "Do you know what is he trying to do?"

"I can't be sure, it seems like he's not trying to activate the building but to open the door. I don't think that's going to work, though."

"What do you mean?"

"It's an emergency exit, just that. The riddle I told him before, I made it up on the spot." Uriel confessed.

"Woah! And I fell for it, don't tell me... the ones in the Cenote and the ossuary, did you make those up too?"

"No, those were real. I just didn't feel comfortable telling that an mysterious carving inside an ancient pyramid could say something so menial and thought a riddle would be more fitting. But something doesn't add up, he was with us when we discovered that the entrance to the underground structure should be somewhere in the Cenote."

For a long while they remained in silence trying to think of a way to activate the building without having to face whatever it was that killed the panther cryptid at the top of the pyramid. Uriel also wanted to avoid dealing with Flanagan, not because he didn't want to put him in his place, but because he felt it was unnecessary.

"All we need to do is activate the protective barrier and go back to the zeppelin, we'll let the cryptids and the jungle to deal with Flanagan."

"I don't agree... A cockroach like that needs to be stomped before it gets the chance to reproduce. Who knows what will happen if the Mapple corp gets influenced by the likes of him. Do you think you can activate the building while I take care of him?" She asked.

"I don't even know if there's a way to do it! Did you happen to see a control panel? do you have a remote control? No, wait, maybe you got the instruction manual?"

"Geez, there's no need to be sarcastic. I was just asking because you always seem to know what to do."

"It's called archaeology, if you need a miracle you'll have to ask a god." A sudden realization hit Uriel. "It's the bracelet! He's not trying to open the emergency exit, he's trying to activate the bracelet!"

"What?"

"The nameless bracelet is a mythological artifact related to the gods but there's not much information about it, only that it was a gift sent by the gods to the 'dearest one' which was supposedly the first priestess.

Although the fountain of youth has usually been portrayed as an actual fountain, there's a lot of speculation about it and it could well be an artifact, maybe he thinks the jeweled bracelet and the fountain are related in some way. There's just one issue, how on earth did someone like Flanagan know about something that would require a profound knowledge on the Mayan culture."

"Uh, Mister Sage, you know that Flanagan used to smuggle antiques? He always introduces himself as a former businessman but he was a criminal. In fact, most Mapple corp. bodyguards used to be criminals." Nika explained.

"Does that also apply to you?" Uriel asked awkwardly, not expecting a straight answer.

"Of course it does! I used to belong to the liberation army but that's water under the bridge now." Nika's words were met with a suspicious look from Uriel, but she seemed completely unfazed by it.

"Even if he was a smuggler, it still doesn't make sense. I mean, even though I've been studying archaeology for as long as I remember I'm only at a level where I can brainstorm some wild theories. Something like this is more than just smuggler's gossip."

"Did I mention that he was Schlieman's pal? In fact, I think the only reason why Schlieman was hired was because Flanagan himself recruited him."

"They say birds of a feather flock together." Uriel sighed, but that also gave him an idea. "I think I have a plan, but if it goes wrong we're done for."

"You're kidding me, right? We're literally trapped underground in between a madman and undead, without food, without water, without a comfy pillow. Whatever it is I'm in, I don't care anymore, all I want is to be able to punch his stupid face at least one time before I die."

"Then, I don't think you're going to like my plan. I say we help him."

"But he betrayed us! Who knows what he did to the rest of our team!?" Nika was dumbfounded.

"Yes but, he also found his way to the top of the pyramid safely, just hear me out. If you say he used to be an antique dealer..."

"Smuggler." Nika corrected him.

"Whatever, my point is he dealt with antiques so he's centered on the monetary value of artifacts and not their cultural background. Most likely Schlieman was the one in charge of all the cultural aspects of his shady deals as a smuggler."

"What does it have to do with anything?"

"It's simple... he's missing a partner to figure out how to fully activate the bracelet and I think I can bullshit my way into making him helping us activate the barrier instead."

The plan was simple enough. Trick Flanagan into letting them activate the protective barrier and then run away as quickly as possible but, no matter how well thought a plan was, few of them survived reality. It was one thing to think of something, but actually seeing it through was the difficult part.

Anyhow, once they made up their mind the only thing left for them to do was to risk it all and cross their fingers hoping for the best.

"Yo, Flanagan!" Said Nika as the hidden door was suddenly opened, but she was stunned in place when she saw the dantean picture in front of her.