Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“Wait, Amelia!” Noele shouted out after me.

But I continued walking further down the dark corridor. My footfalls echoed in the winding tunnel as I glanced back at the blonde girl. She stood frozen at the entrance, too afraid to press forward.

“Stop being so scared, Noele,” I called back. “If you don’t hurry up, I’ll just leave you behind. And I won’t be there to save you if some S-ranked monster gets to you.”

“That’s—” She bit her lower lip. The Noble Spellsword quickly made her way to my side. She fixed me with a worried look, speaking in a hushed voice. “I’m not... scared, Amelia. It’s just... you know we’re being watched, right?”

“I am aware,” I said with a nod. “Honestly, I”m surprised you can sense it too. I’d have thought you’d be too low-leveled to notice.”

“Weren’t you the one who said levels don’t matter?” Noele narrowed her eyes at me.

“It doesn’t. And you’ve just proved my point.” I grinned back at her. The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.

We headed down a gradual decline as the blonde girl shook her head. “Don’t you think we should be a little bit more careful if we’re being watched? That means Grat-ra’zun himself knows that we’re here.”

“That’s good, then. We’re here to have a chat with him, aren’t we?”

“He’s... never been keen about having visitors, Amelia.” Noele shifted uncomfortably as we turned a corner. “You saw that death barrier. He’s probably set up a lot more traps ahead of us too.”

“If you think he’d try and kill us, why did you suggest seeking him out, then?” I said flatly as I stopped.

She paused. Blinking, she met my gaze. And she spoke slowly. “I guess I suggested coming here on a whim after you said you killed a Lich King. I was still slightly skeptical when I brought it up at first— that’s why I didn’t really elaborate about how he’s an Elder Dragon until we got here— but after everything I’ve seen from you since then, I know you can handle yourself just fine.”

I waited, knowing she wasn’t finished yet. Noele raised her head and continued.

“But— I’m not you, Amelia. Even if you can walk through traps that can kill S-ranks just fine, I can’t survive that. I have to be cautious, or I can really end up dying here. And I can’t die. Not yet.”

I watched as she gritted her teeth. Just from what I knew about books and movies back on Earth, dragons were supposedly a really big deal, and it seemed to be the same way here in Vacuos. Also, there was apparently a distinction between any old dragon and an Elder Dragon, where the latter carried even more gravitas than the former. Nodding, I patted Noele reassuringly on the shoulder.

“You’re the one who said it yourself: you’re my apprentice now. I’d be a pretty big failure as your teacher if I let you die here while under my supervision, no?” I said simply.

Her eyes grew wide. She stared at me, her mouth bobbing open, at a loss for words. “I—”

“Also, I haven’t gotten my first month’s payment from you yet, so I can’t let you die until then,” I quickly added.

Noele paused. She blinked a few times. Then she rolled her eyes, scoffing. “I forgot you’re only doing this because you’re broke and need the money.”

“That was a joke.” I smirked at her as I ushered her forward. “Come on. Even if there are other traps further down, that death barrier was weak, anyways. So relax, Noele. We’ll be fine.”

“Right, right.”

—--

Grat-ra’zun watched as both girls continued uncaring further into the cavern. He heard their conversation through his scrying spell. Both of them were keen enough to sense his spying. But it was no matter, because neither did anything to stop it. Instead, the crimson dragon focused his attention on one of the two figures.

That brown-haired human killed a Lich King? Impossible. There shouldn’t be any Lich Kings around in this era. Not when a [Hero] had just been anointed by the World System. That meant Vacuos should have just begun its Cycle of Calamity. It should have taken another century at the very least for a Lich King to be born through their necromantic rituals. Unless... one of the Lich Kings of old had been restored to life.

The Elder Dragon huffed out a plume of smoke as he continued watching the ethereal image in thought. It was unlikely the human had mistaken a regular lich for a Lich King. That was just not a mistake someone who could venture up Mount Arkais would make. So this ‘Amelia’ had to have been telling the truth.

Who could it have been? Grat-ra’zun wondered. Which of the five Lich Kings could it have been? Immediately, the dragon crossed out two options from the list. It couldn’t have been Fihla the Only Female Lich King and Ruler of Arelioth’s Pass, nor could it have been Ar’elith the First Lich King and Lord of All Undeath. If it had been either of those two, half the continent of Laxo would’ve been plunged into chaos in just a week.

He roared as hole appeared beneath the two humans, threatening to drop them into dark raging flames. But Amelia just grabbed Noele and blew hard against the ground. The breath of air carried both of them up and out of the pit as the black fire was extinguished down below.

“Be torn apart in a [Particle Storm]!”

Amelia slashed up, shearing straight through the blanket of nanoparticles buzzing her way.

“Be obliterated by [True Lightning]!”

She redirected the bolt of—

.

.

.

They were getting close. Only a single corridor remained between the two humans and the Elder Dragon himself. Nothing could stop them. Grat-ra’zun had exhausted nearly everything in his arsenal. He only had a single remaining layer of defense.

“How about this?” he panted as a massive spell circle formed beneath him. “[Keeper Of Antiquity, Born From Dust. Lend Me Your Strength, Doll Of Mud. Take My Life, And Crush My Enemies— Golem Creation: Greater Earth Elemental]!”

The corridor before the two humans shifted. Bits of rocks broke off from the walls and ceiling, forming the vestiges of a giant figure made from stone. And Amelia kicked it aside before it could fully take shape. It collapsed into a pile of rubble as she urged Noele ahead.

“I think we’re reaching the end—”

The image vanished. Grat-ra’zun sighed, his wings slumping. All his traps had failed. His lair had been fully breached. Never in a thousand years did the dragon ever imagine two mere humans could make it this far. No— it was only the work of a single human as a second trailed behind.

“And now, they’ve arrived.” He closed his eyes. He could hear their footfalls growing closer as they would soon reach his hoard.

Grat-ra’zun wings spread wide, and a puff of smoke escaped his nostrils. They might have broken through his defenses, but there was still something that could be done. A single thing. The only thing that was left.

He flew up, moving to finally greet the two intruders before they found him themselves. To meet them at the entrance to his hoard.

—--

“Do you hear that, Amelia?” Noele frowned, glancing around. “That sounds like...”

“The beating of wings,” I said simply. “Brace yourself, Noele.”

She blinked, only to be blown off her feet as a hulking crimson mass came crashing down before the two of us. A red dragon barred the entrance to the final cave chamber. Scales glittering. Smoke puffing from its maw. It spread its wings wide as it brought its head down until its gaze was level with me, staring with slit-like pupils and golden eyes.

“That’s—” she started.

“I AM GRAT-RA’ZUN!” the dragon roared. “THE GREAT RAKAARZUN. GLORIOUS TERROR OF MOUNT ARKAIS.”

I stood my ground as I unsheathed my sword. Grat-ra’zun breathed out once, and a blast of smoke washed over me. The gust nearly sent Noele flying even further, but she clung desperately onto a nearby rock. A white glow overcame my blade as I readied myself, and the dragon continued listing out his titles.

“IGNIZ’S ARCANE CHAMPION. KING OF THE CRIMSON FLAME. ONE OF THE LAST ELDER DRAGONS LEFT ALIVE IN ALL OF VACUOS. AND—”

Grat-ra’zun raised his head. I narrowed my eyes. Noele winced, trembling in fear. But the dragon just bowed back down as he finished.

“—I surrender.”

I blinked. “Oh.”