243 NOT THE REAL DASSA
A moment later, they emerged somewhere new.
Dassa gasped, her eyes widening as she took in the grotesque scene.
"Where the hell is this?" Dassa asked with an escaped grin.
They now stood in a garden of willows, the trees draped in thick webs. Massive spiders scuttled along the ceiling, weaving intricate patterns of silk. In the center of the chamber loomed an enormous jade throne, its structure grotesquely sculpted from the contorted bodies of the damned.
"This wasn't here before", Dassa murmured about the throne.
Then she realized who was there before her. Leo sat casually on his jade throne as his wives flanked him around the magical throne.
Lillsa forced Dassa onto her knees. She glared up at Leo with defiance.
"What have you done to the rose dungeon?" she demanded. "And that throne—what in all the hells is it? What did you do to Lillsa?"
"So many questions," Petunia mused. "Where should we start?"
"Let's begin with Lillsa," she continued with a smirk. "You may not know it, but she was never the innocent 'Rose' you believed her to be. Long before Madame La Rosa took over the Rose Dungeon, Lillsa was the true Rose Demon. She merely came back to reclaim what was once hers."
"That is not possible. Lillsa is just a weak girl … a pawn. And I couldn't sense any demonic presence within her. How can she be the original Rose Demons?", Dassa protested.
"It's a long story. In summary, due to some emergency I transformed into a human to escape and lost my Rose dungeon. I've been trying to claim it back ever since but Lusifar and Madame La Rosa took turns occupying it", Lillsa explained.
"Human?... there is such a magic that can turn demons into humans. No wonder I couldn't sense any demon powers in you", Dassa said.
Dassa's eyes narrowed. "Then why are you working for him?"
Lillsa's voice was hollow when she answered. "I have no choice. They bound my soul to this throne. I am their soul puppet now."
"You can always have a choice! I can help you," Dassa shouted.
"Yes," Sujira said dryly, gesturing to the bodies at the foot of the throne. "Her other choice was to end up like them and soon it would be your turn."
Dassa was shocked by Sujira's presence.
"Sujira, even you work for him now?" she asked.
Leo was surprised Dassa knew Sujira and asked her, "you know her?"
Sujira shook her head, "No, I've never seen her before."
Dassa recoiled realizing that she may have revealed something about her that she shouldn't. Then she tried to avoid the question about how she knew Sujira.
Leo merely smiled but did not press the matter.
Dassa glanced at the jade throne and finally noticed the tormented faces on the foot of the jade throne twisted in agony, their silent screams frozen in stone.
"This throne is a fucking monstrosity," she hissed.
"Now you know why I chose to serve master. Its either to serve with dignity or become like those wailing heads", Lillsa added.
"What is this? A dungeon core?" Dassa asked suddenly recognizing the true nature of the jade throne.
"I'm surprised you found out," Yun-Yun replied coolly. "Every dungeon needs a core."
"That is not possible, the Rose Scepter is the core of the Rose dungeon, when did it become a jade throne?" Dassa asked through gritted teeth.
Then Dassa realized the truth.
"No wonder the Rose Scepter couldn't control this dungeon", she murmured.
"Yes, you are correct," Yun-Yun continued, "this dungeon already has a new core—this throne. The Rose scepter is useless here."
"Then what was the Rose Garden out there?"
Leo chuckled. "A last-minute bit of redecorating."
"Once we learned of your plot to steal our dungeon with the Rose Scepter, we needed a countermeasure," Yun-Yun explained. "The solution? Lead you and future intruders into a decoy—the fake Rose Garden."
"And, of course," Petunia added, "a fake 'Boss' to guard it."
"Lillsa was the perfect candidate," Leo said. "The fake Rose dungeon needed a ruler, and who better than the one who once held dominion over it, the real Rose Demon?"
Dassa's hands clenched into fists. "Why go through all this fucking trouble just to fool me? Once we came into your dungeon we have already lost."
"It's a precaution against the Temple of Hera's agents snooping in here now and then", Sujira added.
Dassa looked at her before uttering, "Traitor." Sujira quickly took a step back, fearing the aura of Dassa's authority.
Petunia suddenly became impatient. "Why should we bother to talk with this bitch?"
Leo's smile faded. "Because we want to know who she really is."
With a flick of his wrist, an unseen force yanked Dassa forward. She screamed as she was hurled into the jade throne, her body convulsing as the magic engulfed her. Her flesh darkened, her essence unraveling.
"No! You can't do this to me!" she shrieked, but her voice was already fading. I thought you were my friend", Dassa pleaded to Leo's memories of her as his friend.
Leo replied to her, "Well, that is true… but you are not the real Dassa."
"How do you know?" Dassa asked angrily.
"Yeah, how do you know, dear. It clearly spells 'Dassa' above her icon display", Petunia asked.
Every player in the game could see the description of other players or NPC in the realm if they scan them. The scan would reveal their name and 'Dassa' was clearly on her scan.
Leo paused before replying.
"It's obvious she's not Dassa although her body indeed belongs to Dassa… but why she has Dassa's body, I am as curious as you", Leo replied to her.
"How do you know I'm not the real Dassa?" Dassa cried angrily.
"Because the real Dassa would not recognize Sujira personally, for one", Leo replied to her.
"Yes, I've never seen this woman ever before. I'm quite surprised she knows me", Sujira added.