Chapter 97: Traces of the Ninjas

“Master! Please go towards that flame!”

My Master folded her massive wings and slowly descended near the flame barrier.

At that moment, a wave of cold air spread out from her body in all directions.

Whoosh!

The flame barrier was blown away in an instant.

As the red flames scattered and disappeared, the magnificent carriage hidden within finally revealed its full, radiant form.

Thud!

The moment my Master’s giant claws touched the ground, the entire earth seemed to vibrate.

Simultaneously, a series of dull thuds could be heard from around the carriage, as if something was moving hastily.

“Wh-what in the world… A dragon…!”

The owner of the trembling voice was none other than the coachman.

But he wasn’t the coachman I remembered.

He had become a completely different person, round and plump as if he had swallowed a balloon.

The sight of him trying to hide behind the carriage, trembling, was even more ridiculous.

Why is he so fat…?

He had a pretty decent face before…?

“Hee-hee-heeing! Heeeeing!”

The terrified neighs of the horses erupted in succession.

All eight horses simultaneously submitted to my Master’s overwhelming presence, burying their heads in the ground.

Their legs gave out completely, and they began to collapse one by one with heavy thuds.

…?

My eyes widened.

The horses had also become incredibly fat!

They were originally majestic horses that elegantly pulled the royal carriage, but now they were so round it was hard to tell if they were pigs or horses.

What are you guys doing becoming pigs too!

Even the way they collapsed, with a light thudding sound, made the scene even more absurd.

The silver light enveloping my Master began to fade.

The form of the giant dragon gradually shrank, and soon she returned to her beautiful, silver-haired female form.

“Uh… uh…?”

The coachman’s eyes grew even wider.

The shock of witnessing a dragon transform into a human was etched all over his plump face.

His mouth hung open, unable to form words.

Nys also approached my Master’s side, her black dress fluttering elegantly.

As the two beautiful figures stood side by side, the coachman’s face went completely blank.

“H-huh…!”

The coachman swallowed heavily, his eyes trembling.

His whole body was shaking, but his eyes remained fixed on the two of them.

“Hey! Coachman!”

I poked my head out from behind my Master’s back and greeted him cheerfully.

“Ah! Licorice-nim!”

The moment he recognized me, the coachman’s shoulders slumped visibly.

He let out a rough sigh of relief, but his legs were still trembling.

“You don’t have to be scared! It’s my Master and Nys!”

“Licorice. Is this carriage yours?”

My Master asked in a voice tinged with admiration as she looked the carriage over.

Her pure white eyes scanned every corner of the carriage, as if she were admiring a work of art.

“Oh my, what a luxurious carriage.”

Nys’s eyes also sparkled as if she had seen a jewel, admiring the carriage’s intricate gold decorations and detailed carvings.

“I haven’t seen such a luxurious carriage in a long time. It looks like something only royalty would use…”

“Hehe! It’s the carriage used by the king of the kingdom! I brought it!”

As I proudly puffed out my chest, my Master smiled softly.

“As expected of my Licorice.”

Heehee!

“But where are Ryandel and Leivi?”

“Well… that is…”

The coachman stammered, glancing nervously at my Master and Nys.

“About a month ago… while I was driving the carriage, my head suddenly started to hurt. Then I couldn’t move my body as I pleased.”

The coachman’s voice grew smaller.

“My consciousness became hazy after that, and the carriage was heading towards the demon territory. I didn’t feel like I was controlling it, but rather that something was controlling me.”

“So that’s how you ended up here?”

“Yes… We ended up here, and Ryandel-nim was trying to heal me when… I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was inside this flame barrier.”

Ah, I see.

The flame barrier must have been created by Cecilia to protect the coachman and the horses.

“So I’ve been staying inside, eating the remaining food in the carriage… I think it’s been about a month.”

So you all became pigs because you did nothing but eat for a month!

“Hmph… Do you know where the others went?”

“No… I lost consciousness, so I don’t know. They were already gone when I woke up.”

Well…

Since Abraxas said they went to the Great Labyrinth, they must be there.

But wait a minute…

They went to the Great Labyrinth a month ago?

Seriously…

I checked the brooch, and it was glowing, pointing in a new direction.

So the Great Labyrinth is in that direction.

“Are they safe…?”

Blink, blink!

The purple light flickered rapidly in response when I asked the brooch.

Phew…

“But why on earth did they go into the Great Labyrinth? What kind of confidence do they have without me?”

As I muttered, Miel on my shoulder began to touch my hair again.

What are you going to write now!

I shot my hand out like lightning to catch Miel, but she had already flown high into the sky.

And then she began to sprinkle my hair dramatically in the air.

– It’s because of Licorice that everyone became idiots! Contagious idiot disease!

The falling strands of hair formed perfect letters in the air.

Each stroke was as exquisite as if written by a master calligrapher with a brush.

Wha…

What kind of high-level skill is this…?

But what!

Contagious idiot disease!?

“If I catch you today, I’m really going to turn you into a butterfly specimen!”

Swish, swish!

Flap, flap!

This time, I mobilized all my roots to catch Miel.

Black roots whipped through the air like whips, reaching for Miel, but they didn’t even graze her.

Was this little one always this agile…?

“Uh… Licorice-nim? What should I do now?”

The coachman, who had been staring blankly at the fierce aerial battle between me and Miel, carefully interjected.

Hmph…

Miel, you’re lucky…

“…Then you should go back to the Jenes Kingdom now.”

And then I tiptoed to the coachman and added in a whisper.

“There should be a lair made for my Master, so go there. And you and the horses, lose some weight. My carriage wouldn’t look good as a fat club.”

“Yes…? Wasn’t my job over…?”

The coachman asked with a bewildered face.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You came with the carriage, so you’re mine too.”

“Ah…”

A look of sadness crossed the coachman’s face.

“Hmph…?”

Are you dissatisfied…?

As I narrowed my eyes and glared at the coachman, he quickly changed his attitude.

“Haha…! No! I’m very happy! To be the coachman of a legendary being!”

“Mm. Good, good.”

That’s how you should be!

“You there.”

Nys called out to the coachman, then began to summon something from deep within the earth.

The ground split open, and four Death Knights emerged one by one.

 ☆☆☆☆☆ Death Knight LV235 

☆☆☆☆☆ Death Knight LV241 

☆☆☆☆ Death Knight LV229

☆☆☆☆☆ Death Knight LV238 

“They will protect you and take you safely to the kingdom.”

“Ugh… Ugh!”

The coachman and the horses began to tremble even more violently, but they had no choice.

“Then, travel safely!”

“…Yes! Haha…! Be careful, Licorice-nim!”

The fat coachman, along with the fat horses, began to trudge away under the escort of the Death Knights.

The horses were so fat that even their steps were slow.

My Master began to transform into a dragon again.

“Come on, Licorice. Get on.”

As Nys and I climbed onto my Master’s back, my Master spread her wings.

As we continued to fly in the direction the brooch pointed, an unexpected sight unfolded in the distance.

A giant pit lay before us.

It was on a scale beyond imagination, like a massive blue hole from a documentary.

Sharp black rocks jutted out along the edge of the pit like the teeth of hell, and a black aura seeped out from between them, creating a sinister atmosphere.

The pit was so deep that the bottom was not visible, and a swirling, spiral path descended endlessly into the darkness.

But near the entrance of the pit, where the spiral path began, I could see some shiny things.

“What… is that…?”

As my Master got closer, their identity was revealed.

They were the corpses of demons.

There were several frozen demon corpses.

Their entire bodies were covered in white frost, and expressions of extreme terror were frozen on their faces.

It was clearly Glacia’s ice-poison stingers.

Next to them were charred corpses.

They were completely reduced to ash, as if they had been thrown into a volcano.

This was the mark of Cecilia’s fire attack.

And the most bizarre were the corpses with round holes pierced through them.

Perfectly circular holes, as if drilled precisely, pierced their chests or heads.

This… the size is exactly Lotte’s…

Lotte attacks now too!?

“Awesome…!”

Arrows were stuck in various places around the pit, and the ground was scorched with the marks of magic circles.

These were the traces of Leivi and Ryandel.

But the amazing thing was that there was not a single drop of blood to be seen.

Our party’s blood, that is.

It showed that it had been a completely one-sided victory.

“Wow… My kids are so strong!”

As I exclaimed in admiration, Nys also nodded.

“They handled it very cleanly.”

“Let’s go in too!”

The brooch, as if mirroring my own heart, shone even brighter towards the inside of the pit.