“Is everyone ready?”
Kyle looked around the party with a grim expression and said, “We’ve been through a lot, but this is going to be our final journey.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll kill the Black Flame Dragon and get all the rare materials. From its wings to its scales, teeth, and claws. Nothing will go to waste.”
Unaware that the very dragon he spoke of stood among them, Gerard rattled off the chilling line as if it were nothing.
“Then let’s go!”
Kyle’s resolute declaration sounded almost like a battle cry, and the party fell in behind him. I lagged reluctantly at the very back.
“Rishian, why aren’t you coming? Going into the forest alone? It’s dangerous. Kakaros said there was an incredibly strong monster nearby.”
“…I’m coming.”
I wasn’t really worried—after all, I was that “incredibly strong monster”—but I followed them with a slightly nervous look.
I told myself that once we’d checked out this empty lair together and left coolly, we’d part ways cleanly without any loose ends. That thought made me feel a bit more at ease.
When we stepped into the darkness of the lair, Gerard raised his staff, which emitted a bright light, and led the way. Kyle followed, scanning the surroundings.
“Everyone be careful. There could be traps. By the way, why is this place so huge?”
“Do you know how fat the Black Flame Dragon is? A beast that massive needs a lair this big to live in.”
Gerard’s comment was so absurd that I nearly let out a snort.
I didn’t know the average dragon build, but I certainly wasn’t fat. If anything, compared to the dragons I knew, I was on the slim side—and I felt wronged just thinking about it.
“I heard the Black Flame Dragon hid a hoard of treasure in here.”
“We’ll reclaim it all and distribute it to the people who were robbed.”
Kyle spoke in an unnecessarily heroic tone. Gerard frowned, clearly not sharing that sentiment.
“But why is it so quiet?”
Not long after they began searching the cavern, Kyle muttered as he sensed something odd.
“Kakaros can’t feel anything either.”
“There’s no treasure to be seen. It’s not just treasure—the whole cave is empty.”
Kakaros and Gerard, rummaging through every corner, added their own observations.
“Maybe whoever knew we were coming ran off with it?”
At Elonen’s speculation, Kyle muttered in disbelief, “If that massive lizard ran away, would it have burrowed underground… or flown away? Well, it could have.”
Watching Kyle talk to himself, Gerard eyed Kakaros suspiciously. “This is definitely the Black Flame Dragon’s lair, right? We didn’t come to the wrong place?”
“Kakaros’s nose never lies.”
Annoyed by Gerard’s doubt, Kakaros snapped back tersely.
I wanted them to just give up and leave, but Kyle seemed determined to search the lair more thoroughly—either because of his thorough nature or because he couldn’t let go. I suspected the latter.
“Let’s spread out and look a bit more. There must be something left behind.”
With that, Kyle strode off alone. I’d gathered everything I wanted, so there wouldn’t be any trace to find anyway.
Just then, I faintly heard a buzzing sound, something oddly familiar that suddenly reminded me of something I’d completely forgotten.
‘The mirror!’
Realizing I’d left the mirror behind, I dashed toward where I’d stashed it. But by the time I arrived, Kyle was already standing in front of it.
“Rishian, perfect timing. Isn’t this mirror weird? It’s making noises and vibrating.”
Kyle murmured as he ran his hand over the mirror’s surface, and with each touch, the vibrations grew stronger.
From what I’d read in the grimoire I’d hidden in subspace, this mirror appeared inanimate but was actually a kind of magical beast. I’d used it to surveil the outside, but its true power was something else.
The mirror possessed a mind of its own. It read and projected a person’s hidden anxieties, worries, and desires, then bewitched and brainwashed them, feeding on their mental energy.
“I think there’s a space behind here.”
As Kyle peered into a narrow gap at the back of the mirror, the reflection inside showed me grinning at myself. Black wings sprouted from my shoulders and a tail slithered out.
What was this insane mirror doing? It wouldn’t dare bewitch its owner—yet it seemed to be making a show of me, the one who’d left it behind.
“There’s nothing behind it.”
Just as Kyle said that and turned back to the mirror, I seized his shoulder and shoved him hard against it.
“Jesus, Rishian, what are you doing?”
Kyle grimaced as his back slammed into the mirror, and in the reflection I saw my fully draconic form behind him.
“Is there something in the mirror?”
Just as Kyle tried to look behind him, I slapped my palm against the glass, trapping his head in place. Before I knew it, he was caught in my arms.
“Rishian? Can you explain what’s happening?”
“I, um… well….”
I didn’t know what to say, so I stared up at Kyle’s face. His sky-blue eyes shone transparently with suspicion.
Seeing eyes that color up close was new to me—it was oddly mesmerizing, and I honestly thought they were beautiful.
“The closer I look, the prettier your eyes are.”
Burdened by the need to say something, I blurted out my honest thought. Kyle blinked for a moment, sighed deeply, then arched his brows.
“Rishian, thanks for the compliment, but it’s a problem if you’re falling for me. I’m not the type to develop romantic feelings with a teammate. Even if you seduce me like this, I couldn’t accept it.”
He said that as if it were nothing, and I was even more flustered.
“S-seduce? Who’s falling for whom? That’s ridiculous.”
A chill ran down my spine, and I froze in place. Kyle looked at me standing there speechless, then burst out laughing.
“Relax, it was a joke. No need to freak out like that. You should think about how the other person feels, too.”
He was the one who hadn’t considered my feelings at all. I said nothing, and he gave my arm a light push.
When Kyle turned back, the mirror had returned to normal.
“Anyway, I’m pretty sure the dragon left this mirror behind. I’ll tell Gerard to stash it in subspace for now.”
I worried it might show some useless visions if someone else looked into it, but fortunately nothing else happened until Gerard arrived and put it away.
“It really is empty. There’s nothing more to find. We should stop wasting time and head back.”
Kyle said to the gathered party, his face still looking unsettled.
They all looked awkward, as if a speech had cut off mid-sentence, but at least we were about to leave the lair.
“Just in case the Black Flame Dragon returns, we should destroy this lair completely.”
Kyle murmured as he looked at the entrance, and I was the only one taken aback.
“Do we really have to?”
“If the Black Flame Dragon wanted to rebuild a lair of this size, it would take tremendous effort and a long time. In the meantime, we could take it down easily.”
No sooner had Kyle finished speaking than Gerard stepped forward, staff in hand.
“I’ll handle it. You lot head back first. You’ll only get in the way.”
“All right, thanks!”
Kyle vacantly left Gerard behind and walked off, followed silently by Elonen and Kakaros.
“Where on earth do you think the Black Flame Dragon went? I thought our long journey was finally over, but now I just feel deflated.”
Elonen wasn’t the only one feeling hollow; the whole party looked drained. It was only natural—they’d finally reached the lair of the ultimate villain, only to find it empty.
“I think we need to go back to square one and gather new clues. We won’t give up until we find the Black Flame Dragon!”
Kyle shouted his unwelcome determination, trying to rally their spirits. It would be easier to give up, though.
“But the dragon might never show up again, you know.”
I tried slyly to persuade them to abandon the hunt once more.
“Kyle, you don’t know how evil and greedy this creature is to speak so lightly.”
Even though I spoke the truth, Kyle blamed me, and I felt wronged. As long as I inhabited the dragon’s body, I truly had no intention of reappearing.
“Then what do we do now? Where do we start?”
Elonen asked, and Kyle answered calmly, “First, we should report to the Subjugation Army that the Black Flame Dragon has vanished.”