“What do we do now?” Mayor Cass asked urgently, hurrying to Ye Chui’s side as the Valkyrie vanished and Debbie fainted. His words subtly acknowledged Ye Chui as the leader of the remaining adventurers, given his apparent understanding of the situation.
When the red demon appeared, some had fled in panic, but those who stayed, mostly those allied with Cass, now gathered around. They looked at Ye Chui and Debbie with awe. Though the events were baffling, they had seen the demon driven off by the pair.
“Let’s head to the castle,” Ye Chui decided, one arm supporting Debbie while the other checked [Map Navigation]. The map clearly showed those who had fled, scattering like frightened rabbits. When he shifted the view to the castle, he let out a surprised “huh.”
Inside the sprawling, intricate castle, the magical guards, previously patrolling in formation, had stopped. Their glowing dots flickered, indicating a combat-ready state. The demon’s escape had fully activated them.
But that wasn’t what shocked Ye Chui most. In the castle’s centre, a new, brilliant light appeared, as vivid as the red dot representing the demon. At its core, the faint outline of a dragon was visible.
“Could that be the dragon egg? The demon broke its seal, and now the egg is awakening too?” Ye Chui thought, stunned. When he first unlocked the map, this light hadn’t been there.
“What’s wrong?” Cass asked, scanning their surroundings warily.
“Nothing, let’s get to the castle,” Ye Chui replied firmly.
He noticed another blinking white dot on the map, similar to the one that marked the entrance to the Goddess of Wealth’s temple ruins in Stan Town. It was at the spot where they had entered this ruin, likely the portal Old Merlin had opened. If things grew dire, they could escape through it.
The demon’s revival was a threat to the entire continent, something others would need to handle. But Ye Chui wanted to investigate the dragon egg. He thought of the black-gold flame dragon summoning card in his iPad spellbook; the egg might be the medium. A gut feeling told him defeating the demon would require the dragon’s help.
Five thousand years ago, the red demon had ambushed and beheaded the black-gold flame dragon. A fated battle between them loomed.
Cass had no objections to Ye Chui’s plan. He turned to the other adventurers and shouted, “Take the wounded, and dispose of the dead!”
The red demon could absorb blood to restore itself, so no corpses could be left behind.
The adventurers sprang into action. Several fire mages incinerated the bodies. Among them, Bilis, the head of the Kiss of the Goddess guild, looked grim. He had attacked the Valkyrie and Jirga and shown hostility toward Ye Chui and Debbie. Though they seemed weakened, he still feared them deeply. After a moment’s thought, he exchanged a glance with Edel, who was lurking in the shadows. Without a word, they slipped away in another direction, abandoning their guild members.
Ye Chui said nothing about their departure. He had no fondness for Bilis or Edel and wouldn’t mind showing some decisive force, but he had no time to deal with them now. The old swordsman, Cass’s deputy, silently followed orders, tending to the wounded and destroying bodies. Noticing Ye Chui’s gaze, he nodded apologetically.
Ye Chui then spotted Riken lying nearby.
Supporting Debbie, he approached Riken. The demon’s attack had left him gravely injured, his body nearly crushed. Even Afu couldn’t heal such wounds. Riken was barely clinging to life, his face weary from pain and death’s approach. The hatred in his eyes toward Ye Chui had faded.
Ye Chui sighed and asked, “I really don’t know why you hate me so much.”
He and Riken had known each other since childhood, once close friends. How had it come to this?
“You… why…” Riken, at life’s end, mustered his strength to speak. “Why… did you hurt Lesha?”
It was an accusation.
“Lesha?” Ye Chui froze, searching Wade’s memories for the name.
Lesha was a girl with bright, mischievous eyes and a playful personality. After becoming an orphan, Ye Chui had lived in Stan Town’s church for a time, where orphans were sheltered. For about two years, Wade, Riken, and Lesha were inseparable, doing everything together. When Wade and Riken planned their future adventures, Lesha was always included.
But later, Ye Chui was adopted by an old man, and Lesha, discovered to have the potential to become a cleric, was taken by a nun from the Holy Church to be trained as a sacred nun.
For an orphan girl, it was the best possible path.
So why would Riken say Ye Chui had hurt her?
“There must be some misunderstanding,” Ye Chui said, looking at Riken.
Riken’s lips moved, but no words came. His life faded, and he died.
Ye Chui frowned, checking to confirm Riken’s death, then stored his body in the [Storage Space] of his spellbook. He planned to bring the body back and investigate at the church. Something about this felt suspicious.
Seeing Ye Chui use a spatial spell, the nearby adventurers, tending to the wounded and burning bodies, trembled in shock.
A spatial spell! He had just used a spatial spell, hadn’t he?
How many surprises would that unassuming spellbook deliver?
After ensuring no wounded or bodies were left, Ye Chui hoisted Debbie into his arms. “Let’s go.”
For a moment, he exuded a leader’s aura.
Then, with a thud, he stumbled after two steps and fell, still holding Debbie. Though she was petite, Ye Chui’s current body wasn’t strong. With [Wind Walk], he could carry her effortlessly, but with his magic nearly depleted, he dared not use spells. Without magic, he was barely stronger than an average person.
Carrying a girl romantically while travelling wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
Cass, exasperated, patted Ye Chui’s shoulder as he got up. “Let me carry her.”
“Thanks for the trouble,” Ye Chui muttered.
As Ye Chui’s group headed toward the castle, a tall, staggering figure moved slowly at the western edge of the garden. It was Thorne, head of the Bullhead Magic Guild. He had fought Jirga alongside Bilis and the old swordsman, only to be gravely wounded by her [Golden Rain]. His helmet shattered, and his body bore severe injuries that would have killed anyone else. Yet he had survived and quietly fled the battlefield.
Thorne was a magic swordsman, wielding a black longsword. Though he summoned his spellbook in battle, few had seen him use magic.
His spellbook’s attribute was light.
Light magic excelled in healing and defence, considered the most selfless magic. But Thorne wasn’t satisfied. He didn’t want to heal others; he craved power to harm. Upon learning his spellbook was light-attributed, he chose the path of a magic swordsman, using light magic solely to heal himself.
This gave him near-immortal resilience.
“When I’m fully healed, I won’t let you off… damn it…” Thorne gasped, leaning against a dead tree to rest.
But then, a chilling sensation gripped him. He looked to the side, alert. There, perched on a rock, was the red demon, holding a withered corpse. Its red eyes stared coldly at Thorne. With a snap, it discarded the body and lunged.
“No! No…”
