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The Depths of the Dungeon – Part 04

It was late at night at Cotton-elka. Only a few adventurers—those who were on lookout duty—saw the light that briefly illuminated the village. A pillar of flame—or light, perhaps—erupted in the sky above the vast forest that housed the dungeon Forest of Deception. Members of the Four Eastern Stars woke up, but by the time they stepped out of their tents, the flames were already gone, and there was only a bit of smoke rising into the air. Later, a red flying object appeared from within the smoke.

The same flames were also observed in the fortress city of Leather-elka.

People in the post town along the highway spotted the flames too.

The light reached even the faraway town of Pond, but only faintly.

“What was that?!”

Unken noticed the light. He had been working tirelessly at the Adventurers Guild; he had not received any further news from Cotton-elka.

“Cotton-elka is in that direction. Did it come from there? If I could see it even from here, it must’ve been a tremendously bright light.”

---

“I didn’t expect Lavia to faint.”

Hikaru carried Lavia on his back, secured her with a rope, and climbed the ladder leading out of the dungeon. In addition to expending a large amount of mana, running away for dear life from the Fire Drakon’s flames had pushed Lavia over her limit.

Killing the Black Dragon solo, and the White Dragon with Lavia and the other adventurers increased Hikaru’s Soul Rank by 2. The higher his rank, the harder it was to level-up. He used one point to raise his Strength from 1 to 2, which allowed him to easily carry Lavia on his back.

Soon he reached the surface.

“Hahahahaha! The outside is incredible!”

The Fire Drakon was flying in the jet-black night sky, emitting a dull red glow.

“…Hey.”

“Ah, I love the scent of fresh air.”

“Hey, stupid Fire Drakon! Stupidrakon!”

“Hmm?!”

The Fire Drakon spotted Hikaru in the woods below its feet.

“How dare you try to kill your saviors!”

“Oh, right. Humans are fragile creatures. Such degree of heat could have killed you, huh? Hahaha!”

Hikaru’s cheeks twitched. If he was within range, he would have dropkicked the drakon, but much to his chagrin, it was in the air, and could even breathe powerful flames.

Noticing the look on his face, the drakon said, “D-Don’t be so angry. I am not an ungrateful Fire Drakon. Tell me what you want.”

“What can you even do? Remember: we freed you, and you almost killed us. That’s at least two demands that you will satisfy.”

“I-I know, I know. You humans are so greedy.”

Hikaru’s blood pressure rose again; he was called greedy when he was being reasonable.

Calm down, he told himself. I’m talking to an idiot. Just think of it like you’re dealing with a toddler.

Now what do I ask from it?

Lavia groaned, but she was still not waking up.

Right. There’s Lavia to think about. What do I do?

Hikaru racked his brains.

“You can fly,” he said. “So for my first demand…”

---

Hikaru screamed.

“…”

“Ah, Lavia just woke up, and now she’s out cold again! Lavia! You have to stay awake!”

Hikaru was holding on to long white hair. The drakon’s mane.

“Let us go on a leisurely stroll under the night sky, shall we?”

“S-Slow down!” You’re going too fast!”

“Hahahaha!”

Hikaru was riding on the Fire Drakon with Lavia. It had a mane that grew down the back all the way to its tail, and the two of them were right around the neck, near the horns. Each of its hair was over a meter long. Lavia fainted again, so to be extra safe, Hikaru tied her arms and legs to the mane.

Hikaru thought riding a drakon would be a magical experience, but he couldn’t be more wrong. First of all, riding a vehicle without any kind of windshield was not right. The wind was so strong that he couldn’t lift his head up, and so loud that it was impossible to hold a proper conversation.

However, the scenery was spectacular. Hikaru had a sweeping view of the moonlit land, with the starry sky high above.

“So, how did you get trapped in that place?!” Hikaru asked.

“Oh, that. The memory vexes me still. I was gullible.”

“Gullible?!”

“I trusted a former comrade. A drakon that turned its back on the gods and became tainted with evil.”

“Wait a sec. What do you mean by turned its back on the gods?! Do drakons serve gods or something?!”

“You do not even know that?! How truly sad. Drakons fight dragons. Dragons are beings of the dark, and we, servants of the light, fight them on behalf of the gods.”

Myths, Hikaru thought. Roland, the original owner of his body, was not so familiar with mythology, but Hikaru thought drakons appeared in them. Only a minor role, though.

“Can drakons talk to the gods?”

“Gods do not speak. There are only outcomes.”

Hikaru recalled hearing similar words from the preacher at the temple.

“So you’re saying you were tricked by an evil drakon?”

“Exactly. Well, I think that is it for our lovely conversation. That is our destination, yes?”

Lights flickered in the distance. It was late at night, but there were still places with their lights on. As one would expect from the royal capital.

Hikaru had asked the drakon to take him to the kingdom’s capital, G. Ponsonia—to the large building located in the center of the city, the royal castle.

---

Princess Kujastria of Ponsonia was asleep in her luxurious canopied bed when she was awakened by a commotion in the hallway.

A maid entered through the door. “Princess! Are you awake?!”

“What’s wrong?”

Kujastria got off the bed, perplexed about the maid’s odd behavior. Her body stiffened. Perhaps a civil war broke out or something.

But the maid didn’t have time to explain what was happening. The fine windowpane of Kujastria’s room had an expansive view of the outside. There was a violent tremor and what sounded like a low growl. Blinding light filled the room.

The window shattered, and the wind gusted in. The maid screamed. Kujastria lost her balance, propping herself with both hands.

“P-Princess!”

“I-I’m right here.”

“Thank goodness you’re safe.”

“What was that?! What is happening?!”

Kujastria knew she was unharmed, but the intense light had overwhelmed her retinas. Her vision wasn’t returning to normal fast enough.

She and the maid stood up, embracing each other. Kujastria looked out the window, and her breath seized.

Her room was five stories above ground, but higher above, there was a drakon floating in the air, glowing faintly red. The creature, which she had only seen in illustrations in books about mythology, was so huge that she couldn’t fully grasp the distance between them. It was clear that this drakon did something moments ago. Right down below, people were streaming out into the courtyard on the third floor. Most of them were knights, led by the lightly-armed Sword Saint, Lawrence D. Falcon.

There was no nobleman in charge. There was no sign of her father the king, or her brother the crown prince, either.

“Puny human. I am a Fire Drakon.”

Kujastria shuddered. She didn’t expect it to speak the human language. She now realized that she was in a perilous situation.

The Fire Drakon clearly possessed overwhelming power. The light from earlier was mere intimidation. And the fact that it spoke to her meant only one thing.

“Hmm… Is there no royalty present?”

There was no one who could speak to it. Lawrence might be the Sword Saint, but he was still only a member of the kingdom’s armed forces. He was someone who operated under orders.

“Princess?!”

Kujastria, her lips tightly pursed, stepped on the broken windowpane with her slippers and opened the glass door leading to the balcony.

“I am Kujastria, Princess of the Kingdom of Ponsonia. Legendary Fire Drakon, what business do you have at this hour?”

The knights in the courtyard gasped in astonishment. Royalty should not appear in the face of an obvious threat. If Kujastria’s bedroom was on the third floor, the knights would have blocked her path and prevented her from stepping outside.

Of course, it wasn’t as if she wanted to step out. She was barely managing to maintain her composure by putting strength into her shaking knees. There was almost no likelihood that the royal family—the king and the crown prince—would show up. They put their own wellbeing above anything else. If no royalty appeared, it would mean that humans refused dialogue with the Fire Drakon.

“Kingdom of Ponsonia? Hmm, you do not seem to be lying. A rather young nation, still.”

“Ponsonia is a long-lived dynasty over five hundred years old. I will not allow any insult, even from a—”

“You consider 500 years long-lived? How laughable! From what I can see, you use primitive torches as a source of light, not holy magoi. Hahahaha! Human civilization seems to have regressed.”

Kujastria wanted to argue back—the streetlights in the capital were state-of-the-art magic lamps, and the nightscape here was the best on the continent—but she had to hold on to the railing, lest she got blown back by the sound pressure that the drakon’s laughter produced.

“Hmm? Oh, right…”

The Fire Drakon seemed to be talking to someone.

“Puny human, princess of Ponsonia, I command you. Cease your preparations for war this instant.”

“What?”

“Dethrone the current king and install a new ruler. Or else, my flames will rain down upon this castle.”

The Fire Drakon let out a breath of flame into the night sky, turning it bright as midday. The hot wind pushed Kujastria off the balcony and into her room.