Chapter 1022: An Omen Of Destruction
Kary ignored the commotion behind her and focused on Violette's hair.
"I'll need you to wet your hair completely for me. Can you do that?" she asked the girl, smiling reassuringly.
"Mmm," Violette hummed as she nodded.
Violette used her magic to conjure water on her head to wet her hair all the way through, trusting Kary entirely.
Kary pulled out a brush from her pack before brushing the girl's hair softly, slowly untangling every strand, a dismal amount of mana to heat her palm and act like a makeshift dryer.
With the pulling motion from the brush, the heat from her hand, and some patience, she brought Violette's hair back to its usual silky appearance, albeit a little wavy, and she smiled at her handiwork.
"Once the world goes back to normal, I think I could open a hair salon," Kary joked, giving Violette a comforting hug.
"Thank you," the girl mumbled, reciprocating the hug.
"Don't worry about it, honey. There shall be no sad little girl in my presence, on that, I swear!" Kary said, pumping her fist up like a revolutionary leader.
The action made Violette giggle, washing away her bad temper and returning her to normal.
"We should eat a little before going further into the dungeon. What do you say we go sit with the others?" Kary offered, standing back up.
"Ok," Violette assented with a smile.
Seeing the pair walk back towards them, Alex gave a discreet thumb up to Kary, who winked at him in response. This didn't escape David's sharp eyes, and he went back to grumbling alone in his corner as he kicked rubble around him like a pouting child.
Kary ignored him, feeling like this was not too far from his typical temper. It wasn't worth her attention.
They walked over to Aapo and Cory, who were sitting by themselves, and started pulling out snacks from their packs while Aapo looked at them in desperation.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
He had gone to a corner to be alone, and already, Cory had already joined him, making his social anxiety flare up. At least the teenager had kept quiet, only shooting side glances at him while he ate, so it wasn't too bad.
But now, with Kary and Violette there, the three of them started a conversation and tried to include him, making him uncomfortable.
Aapo kept his replies as short as possible, sometimes even humming in response, making Kary frown.
Cory was shooting adoration-filled glances his way, almost like he idolized him in silence, which wasn't far from the truth.
Following the zigzagging path down, which brought them close to the giant crack in the stone, Kary stayed at the front, trying to instill confidence in them. She figured if she showed no fear, they shouldn't either.
But once they entered the dark entrance back into the volcano's guts, she reorganized the party into a battle formation, just in case, and no one raised a complaint.
They didn't have to walk for long before they reached an opening that led into a massive open
space.
Contrary to the rest of the caverns from before that were evidently naturally formed, this one had a polished feel. The walls were slick and perfectly circular, creating a dome-like room above them, bringing their gazes upward before gasps escaped them.
A mural depicting a gigantic red dragon was displayed on the ceiling, showing it burning
entire cities with its fiery breath while people burned.
And what had made them gasp wasn't that the dragon was massive. No.
It was the sight of the cities that were burning down. They looked modern.
"This is Seoul..." Jin-Sil said, her words choking in her throat.
The burning towers of Seoul and the highways filled with burning debris and charred cars
were traumatic, to say the least.
"This mural is an omen," David said, catching their attention.
"If the dragon ever hatches, we won't be able to stop him, and that will happen. This is the world warning us," he added, his gaze hardening.
"We're not alone," Alex said, pointing straight ahead, where two sets of red eyes glared at them from the darkness.
"So you've come," a low, rumbling voice echoed in the room.
As it spoke, torches lit around the gigantic room, making them realize how big it was.
Kary's flames had been lighting about half of it already, but it was now wholly lit, and they witnessed the challenge ahead of them.
"Well, this is going to be fun," David groaned, pulling out his metal bident imitation.
"Welcome, humans. To the great one's antechamber."