Dungeon Prison
Seibier was flying with Pao on its back, following close behind Sasuri.
"Over there."
Sasuri, who had been speeding westward, spotted a small forest and dove sharply.
Thud! Sasuri and Seibier landed in the woods.
"A monster that casts Invisible magic lives here."
"Then that monster. Giving it to us? For help?"
Sasuri shook its head at Pao's question.
"No. This one's the only one of its kind in the entire Dungeon Prison. It acts completely alone from start to finish. Doesn't know the meaning of cooperation. Last time, I went looking for it to help with the farming, and it just went invisible and vanished."
"What kind of monster?"
"Golden Goblin."
"Golden Goblin?"
"Yeah. A goblin with golden skin. Just think of it as a thief. It wanders around everywhere, and if it sees something it likes, it steals it. Even our griffins lost quite a few precious gems to this guy."
"Why let it? Steal?"
Sasuri snapped in irritation at the foolish question.
"You think the Golden Goblin steals in plain sight? It turns completely invisible with its magic, then takes things without a soul noticing."
"Pao nose good! Find by smell!"
"This one has no scent! No footprints either! That's why it's so special!"
"Still find it! Pao!"
"……."
Sasuri suddenly remembered that goblins weren't the sharpest tools in the shed and shut its beak. Arguing with this guy would just waste time. So, it changed the subject.
"By the way, you're a King Goblin, right?"
"Yeah."
"Never heard anything about Golden Goblins?"
Pao shook his head vigorously.
"Nope."
"Nope? Then what the hell is this thing?"
Come to think of it, the Golden Goblin spoke fluently and seemed pretty intelligent. Sasuri knew it wasn't your average goblin, but it had hoped a King Goblin like Pao might know something. No dice. Did I even need to bring this guy along?
"Gotta try till we can't try anymore."
A Golden Goblin was still a goblin, after all. Maybe it'd obey a King Goblin's command.
"Pao. The Golden Goblin's definitely hiding somewhere around here, watching us. Give it an order."
"How?"
"Tell it to jump out in front of us right now."
"Got it. Ahem!"
Pao cleared his throat and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Golden Goblin! Come out! Here! In front of me!"
Pao sure had a set of pipes. Sasuri, standing right next to him without a thought, felt its head ringing and got annoyed. But no Golden Goblin appeared, and there was zero reaction.
"Guess that doesn't work, huh."
Sasuri muttered while clutching its still-ringing head with a wing. Then—
Rooooaaarrr!
Seibier suddenly let out a massive roar. It had just been mimicking Pao because it looked fun. But the aftermath...
"Gahk!"
"Urk!"
...knocked Sasuri and Pao flat.
That roar carried Dragon Fear. Without control, it affected every monster nearby.
"Y-you crazy dragon!"
"Ugh... s-scary!"
Sasuri and Pao trembled on all fours, each muttering complaints. And then—
"Eeeek! P-please spare me! Spare me! I'm just a poor goblin!"
A golden-skinned goblin was prostrating itself in the distance, begging desperately. Seibier's playful roar had hit it with Dragon Fear too. Talk about stepping on a rat while backing up from a cow!
Sasuri, dazed but quick on the uptake, shouted at Seibier.
"Now! Tell the Golden Goblin to come here!"
Monsters hit by Dragon Fear become mentally subdued and obey the dragon absolutely. Seibier did as Sasuri said.
Grrrrowl!
The Golden Goblin came sprinting over like its eyebrows were on fire.
"Y-yes! Coming! Here I go!"
Thud thud thud! It dashed right up to Seibier. Pao eyed it curiously, while Sasuri—
Smack!
...whacked it on the back of the head with a wing.
"Ow! W-why?!"
"You gotta ask?"
The Golden Goblin had stolen from the griffins' treasures plenty of times, and lately even the farmed crops and neatly stacked meat. From Sasuri's perspective, the little punk deserved a smack to feel better. The goblin knew it too, so it just rubbed its sore head without resisting.
Pao inspected the Golden Goblin from all angles and asked.
"You... goblin?"
"Sure is. Same shape, different color."
"Never seen. Gold color like you."
"Figures. I got caught by some bastard and turned into this after his experiments. Was a normal goblin before."
"Who? That guy."
Pao's voice carried a hint of anger. The idea of one of his own kind used as a lab rat pissed him off. But the Golden Goblin just shrugged nonchalantly.
"He was a 'lich'."
"Lich?"
Sasuri explained for the clueless Pao.
"Undead monster. As long as their phylactery holding their soul isn't destroyed, they keep coming back no matter how many times you kill 'em. Real pain. And they wield insane magic."
The Golden Goblin nodded.
"Right. That lich called himself 'Artazin.' I wasn't the only one he experimented on. Anyway, I'll return everything I've stolen, so please don't kill me!"
The goblin prostrated itself again. Things were going Sasuri's way. Gotta push while the iron's hot!
"Nah. Even if you cough up everything you've stolen, you're still dead."
"Eeeek! H-how?!"
The Golden Goblin paled, eyes welling with tears. Sasuri's sly voice slipped in.
"But there is one way you don't end up as dragon chow."
"W-what is it?"
"You'll do whatever we say?"
"It's my life on the line—of course!"
Perfect. Sasuri finally laid out what it wanted.
"Cast Invisible on this dragon whenever it wants."
"...That's really all?"
"Yeah. How long does one cast last?"
"30 minutes. But mana drain's huge—only two in a row max."
"How long to refill depleted mana?"
"Half a day."
"Two hours a day..."
That alone would be a huge help.
"Good. Let's head to the battlefield now."
Sasuri was about to flap its wings when Pao grabbed its tail.
"No."
"What?"
"First, listen. Master's order!"
"Master gave an order? What?"
"Chubby. Dragon Tomb. To get power."
Seibier getting stronger would only help the war. Sasuri led the way to the Dragon Tomb without a second thought. Seibier followed, carrying Pao and the Golden Goblin on its back.
* * *
When Han Ji-woo returned to the Hidden Space, Toryong was forcibly recalled too.
"Huh? Back all sudden, right~?"
Toryong looked around in confusion. Han Ji-woo, standing beside it, yelled right away.
"Hey, Toryong! What the hell? Why'd you turn into a dragon outta nowhere? You had a skill like that?"
Toryong wiggled like a balloon doll and nodded.
"Had it~! Toryong Art has more too. Hehe!"
"No more startling me later—spill 'em all now."
"My Toryong Art skills! All of them!"
Toryong shoved its face right up to Han Ji-woo's.
"Se~cre~t~! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
It said staccato-style. Han Ji-woo debated smacking it staccato-style too, but—
Nya~aah!
Lucy came bounding into his arms with a happy meow, stealing his attention.
"Aigoo~ Yeah yeah, missed me huh?"
Ferrofero, following Lucy, answered instead.
"Master! Princess has been pining for you endlessly! No troubles in the Demon Realm, I hope?"
Han Ji-woo let out a massive sigh at the question.
"Haaaah. So much insane crap happened."
"Sounds like quite the ordeal!"
"Just glad I made it back alive."
Quest Clear Reward: 'Dimensional Gate to the Demon Realm' has been strengthened.
Dimensional Gate to the Demon Realm has been strengthened. Now possible to transport two additional lifeforms besides yourself.
"Hm. Next time, maybe bring Chubby and Ferrofero?"
Realizing how brutally savage the Demon Realm was, bringing stronger allies made sense.
"Where's Chunsik, though?"
Han Ji-woo stroked Ferrofero's head while looking for Brisong. The pup was dozing near the warm hearth, wagging its tail lazily at him.
"Man, you're getting ruder by the day?"
As he cooed at Brisong, Azid's voice echoed in his head.
-Hey. You alive?
Startled, Han Ji-woo blinked and replied.
-What? Telepathy works here too?
-You're alive, good.
-Yeah. Feels like I've got some crazy luck since coming here.But no clue what happened to Amon and the other demons.
-They're dead.
-How do you know?
-Can't sense their auras anymore.
-You can tell that?
-Yeah.
As the 7th Demon Prince with the Demon King's blood, Azid could sense the life or death of high official demons. But not details like where they were or what they were doing—just alive or dead.
-Everything went according to your plan.
-Lucky. Guess I slipped out right before the Demon King showed up.
He'd seen the Demon King before vanishing, but by the time it looked his way, he was gone. Probably just his imagination that their eyes met. Anyway, all good since it worked out.
-When you coming back?
-Before food runs out this time. But... safe to come?Don't wanna go through that again.
-Told you, I injected you with my demonic energy. You can handle third-rank high officials easy till it fades. I'll top you up when it does—no worries.
-Oh yeah.
He'd forgotten after hearing his power was boosted by Azid's energy. Curious how much, Han Ji-woo opened his status window.
"...What the hell is this?"
Ridiculous numbers stared back at him.