As they slept, Lilith turned in her sleep to face Anatheia, and her face became firmly buried in Ana's bosom. So when she woke, Lilith very nearly had a panic attack, waking Anatheia up at the same time.

“Oh? The little Demon Child wanted a taste of my womanly charms? How forward! Though, I guess I can't begrudge you that,” Ana teased, then leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

“I-I swear I didn't mean to d-do that! I just turn in my sleep. In fact I'm amazed I didn't wake you with how much I usually move,” Lilith stammered urgently. Anatheia released the girl from her cocoon of wings and they got up, going to shower. Ana went second, and when she got out, Lilith was already in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

It was simple meal, eggs and the some strips of deer bacon that had been left with the steaks the night before. However simple did not mean it could not be delicious, and it turned out Lilith could cook quite well.

“Thank you for the pleasant breakfast Demon Child,” Anatheia complimented.

“What will it take you to stop calling me that?” Lilith groaned. Ana's smile was all she needed to see to know the answer.

“Same as before dear. Just tell me why you don't like that name,” Anatheia laid out her deal.

Lilith shook her head, “ I can't do that Miss Anatheia, not yet.”

Not until I know you won't leave me, Lilith thought. She really didn't want Anatheia to know her past, how she had been treated. Knowing the fallen angel, she might do something rash.

Once they had eaten, it was time to meet the others, so they headed down to the cafe situated next door, and found their friends. Marcos and Olena were the last to arrive, giving Ana their customary glare. However nothing could properly spoil Marcos' mood as he quickly smiled.

“Everyone, I have a lead on a new quest. It's in a local dungeon too, so no trekking for days through the wild to get there. This one is just outside the city,” he explained to the group his good mood. Of course something that good had to have a downside, or else everyone would have done it.

“What's the catch?” Nase asked, clearly thinking the same thing Anatheia was.

Marcos grimaced, “That's the thing Nase. You aren't going to like this. It's the swarm dungeon. Hill Ants.”

“Hells Marcos, you're damned right I don't like it. You and I of all people know just how dangerous that dungeon is,” Nase tore into his best friend. Anatheia was interested now. What had happened to bring that reaction? Is this what led them to recruit the way they had?

“Nase, I know friend. I know. We made many mistakes that expedition. But now we have a much more ready team. We didn't have a healer then like now. And with our experience, we can make it through this time. Olena is positive of it. Besides, with the money from this quest you could start up your restaurant,” Marcos elaborated, attempting to placate his friend. Nase sighed before waving him to continue.

Marcos waited for any other objections before continuing, “Now, the goal is the center of the nest, the Queen's chamber, and the eggs. We need to harvest several eggs for the research institute. They want to know if it is possible to tame the Hill Ants.”

“That would be pretty useful. Ants can carry significant weights, and ants that size would be a boon for any city as a workforce,” Anatheia muse aloud. Marcos lit up.

“Exactly! I'm glad we agree for once Miss Anatheia! Not only does this benefit us, but it has the potential to help this city we've all grown up in or become citizens of,” he said, directing the last bit at the Elf twins. Ana noted his use of 'Miss Anatheia' for practically the first time, but let it go. He was in a good mood, no need to spoil it.

“I vote against it,” Nase said, still reluctant to go into this charade.

“I can't wait for it,” Lilith chimed, all fired up.

“We do not approve,” Syr spoke for the twins. That left a tie with Anatheia as the tiebreaker. Marcos looked to her expectantly, and she had to side with Lilith. She too wanted a good fight.

Silently apologizing to Nase, she answered, “I say we do it. We don't know our strength unless we test ourselves. However, I recommend we take our time. Do practice runs before we do the real final run. Especially if we don't expect any competition for this quest.” Marcos beamed at her decision, and nodded his head.

“Of course, I agree. We need to have everyone in top shape for this run. Any of the groups that would dare take this quest are all out on more distant quests currently, and none are expected back soon. We have time. So, let's get ready and head over to the dungeon,” Marcos agreed before excitedly laying out the plan. Anatheia couldn't find fault with the it. All they had to do was beat one of the mid-dungeon bosses before exiting. Ultimately that should be trifling with this group, no matter the level difference.

Once everyone finished whatever drinks they had, they got up as a group and walked across the city. Just an hour outside the walls, the massive dungeon doors protruded from a large hill. Without delay, they opened the doors decorated with elaborate carvings of ants. Hill ants were Earth based from what she remembered, which meant high defense. Along with swarm tactics, that made them extremely dangerous.

From what Marcos said on the way here, the dungeon level was 10-15. She felt fine taking on a dungeon that much higher than her, but she would definitely have to stay as a healer for most of the dungeon.

A single pair of city guards sat at the dungeon, and seemed surprised to see a party approach. This dungeon must not get much love.

I wonder if it has ever lead to a breakout, Anatheia pondered. If a dungeon isn't cleared often enough, the lock on the doors releases and the monsters are able to escape for a short period. Luckily, since these were Hill Ants, they needed to get the Queen out to survive outside of the dungeon. It wasn't likely she was going to move in time.

“Hail friends! We need to warn you, the dungeon is close to a Breakout event. We think it will happen within the next week. There is a bounty for preventing the event though, if you wish to attempt it,” one of the guards told them. Marcos smiled, and turned to the group.

“Perhaps we speed up our timeline then,” Marcos announced to the group.

“I still want a few practice runs Marcos,” Anatheia cut in, not waiting for a sales pitch, eliciting a smile from Nase. He knew Marcos hated being interrupted, and sure enough Marcos was grinding his teeth.

I agree with Miss Anatheia. If we're going to do this, we are going to do it right Marcos. Not like last time,” Nase reminded. He mainly spoke to give Marcos a chance to calm down before responding. It seemed to work.

“Of course! We will still do a few trial runs first,” he assured, doing his best to maintain a sunny disposition.

Marcos continued, “ Now let's all double check out gear, and we will head in!” Olena separated herself from Marcos and approached Anatheia. Her walk and smirk said this was going to be unpleasant.

“We need to talk MISS Anatheia. Follow me,” Olena sneered. She turned and walked off, clearly expecting Anatheia to follow. Ana did so without protest, because she knew they would fall on deaf ears.

“What is it Olena? You and I both know that you don't like me. What do you want?” Anatheia questioned.

“I could ask you the same miss fallen angel. Oh yes, I know what you are, and the Church of Light would not be happy to learn about your presence in this city. Please, keep that in mind,” Olena gloated over her knowledge, her laugh was chilling. This woman was not human, at least not mentally.

With her part said, Olena didn't even wait for a response. She walked back to Marcos's side. Anatheia knew she was untouchable for now. She had to do something completely reprehensible for her to be free game to kill. Even then, there would probably be protests from her comrades. Shaking her head, she ignored what the viper of a woman said, and returned to Lilith's side before the doors were opened.

The massive dungeon doors swung outwards, and a bright light engulfed them. Depositing them in the dungeon, the light faded and they found themselves in a massive tunnel with a number side tunnels and turnoffs.

Before they even took a step, they heard a sound like a machine cutting through the stone from the right.

Marcos pulled his blade and readied his shield while calling out. “Everyone ready, we already have enemies!”

Anatheia quickly placed light magic threads over the wall of the tunnel they were in as a way of holding back the tide. Then, the wall broke in multiple places, and ants began to pour out. One of the tunnels had not bee blocked, but the others were sufficiently blocked so that the ants trickled out.

“Good work Anatheia,” Marcos called out praise, much to Ana's surprise. He seemed in an exceptional mood today. Focusing back on her work, she kept up with control magic and healing primarily, as those were her roles. It freed Tyan up to go on the offensive with his magic, turning control spells into attack spells on the fly. Watching him freeze an ants limbs then shatter was particularly interesting to Ana, but she had to focus, as Nase took a bite to the leg.

Marcos covered her as she healed the deep wound and pulled the human man back to his feet. Suddenly an ant appeared behind, and just as suddenly she was covered in a mild amount of ant insides as a blade passed right through the ant from behind.

“Watch your surroundings Miss Anatheia,” Lilith chided playfully. And Anatheia knew she was lucky. Most of these Ants were level 10 and 11. At her current level, a single significant strike could incapacitate her. Luckily this also meant she would level up quickly. Once the fight was over, she checked and prioritized wounds, healing those that needed it.

This same pattern continued for a short while, and after around 3 battles, they came into a low, open room with a single, much larger enemy.

[Lvl 13 Hill Ant Major]