The Little Dragon Princess
[So, Giryu, do something about this storm first! It's too chaotic to even talk!]
At Lehatna's request, Giryu glanced our way once before sighing and flapping his wings.
The raging storm abruptly died down, as if it had all been a lie.
The dark clouds parted, and brilliant sunlight poured through.
[Much better! Thanks, Giryu!]
Lehatna nodded vigorously in satisfaction and turned to look at me.
She seemed to ponder for a moment before flapping her wings and landing with a thud.
The half-destroyed floating island shook lightly beneath her.
Lehatna, who had landed right in front of me, was far smaller than I'd expected.
A bit smaller than Giryu. Compared to me, she was only about half my size.
Even so, I couldn't let my guard down. The aura radiating from her was unmistakably SS-rank.
That presence rivaled mine or Giryu's without question.
'The daughter of the Dragon King, was it?'
And the 'youngest,' no less.
That meant there were probably several others on her level. Easy to guess.
But what really gnawed at me was the 'Dragon King' himself.
Lehatna's existence aside, hadn't Giryu introduced himself as being under the Dragon King's command?
Which meant the Dragon King was surely...
'SSS-rank.'
Theoretically confirmed, but no one had ever laid eyes on one directly.
The final stage in the system's status window.
The Dragon King had to be SSS-rank, without a doubt.
'Of course, certainty comes only with confirmation...'
My experiences so far told me otherwise.
The Dragon King wasSSS-rank. Otherwise, someone like Giryu wouldn't serve him.
'This is exciting.'
A strange thrill and anticipation welled up at the thought of an SSS-rank monster no one had ever confirmed.
How powerful would he be, exactly?
If there was a gap, how wide would it be?
It felt overwhelming that a mere porter like me could now stand comparable to the pinnacle of SSS-rank.
[So, Nix! Why'd you come all the way here?]
Lehatna's question snapped me out of my reverie.
Her massive reptilian eyes sparkled with curiosity.
She ignored Giryu's attempts to rein her in—calling her 'miss'—and approached me with familiar ease, which felt a bit overwhelming.
[...I wanted to see the end.]
[The end?]
[Yeah. The end of this world—the labyrinth.]
Lehatna let out an exclamation at my matter-of-fact response.
[Whoa! That's awesome!]
Which part of what I said impressed her?
I watched her for a moment as she gushed without end.
She chattered on nonstop.
[Oh, right! What's up there like?!]
[A snow-white mountain range.]
[Whoa! A snowy mountain? Is it pretty? Beautiful?]
[Not as much as here, but it has its own charm. I like it quite a bit.]
[Hmm. You think this place is pretty? I don't really get it! Maybe 'cause I've always been here since forever?]
[Even the most beautiful scenery gets old if you see it every day.]
[Yeah, I guess. Still, I'd love to visit that snowy mountain sometime! Hey, know any other places?]
[There's a world of crimson fire, endless plains, a desert. And above that, beautiful forests.]
[Whoa—I wanna go! Especially those endless plains! A vast, open land... I'm so excited!]
[...The weather there isn't great. It might not live up to your expectations.]
[Huh? If the weather's bad, I can just ask Giryu! Right, Giryu?]
[Yes, miss. No foul weather will block your path.]
[Thanks!]
I watched the two of them chat amiably for a bit.
Two SS-rank monsters showing up in the Plains Zone...
I could already picture the chaos breaking out outside.
[So, is that okay?]
[Huh? What?]
[We killed one of your allies, after all.]
The warm atmosphere chilled instantly, thanks to Lehatna.
Giryu glared at me fiercely, as if questioning why I'd bring it up now.
I ignored his stare and looked steadily at Lehatna.
It wasn't a topic I wanted to dredge up, but it had to be addressed.
From what I'd seen of Lehatna so far, she seemed different from that Sperado guy, but I needed certainty.
Just what kind of person was this seemingly carefree girl?
[Oh. The one who died was Sperado, right?]
[Yes, miss.]
[Don't worry about him! He was always causing trouble with his weird ideology! Giryu was gonna deal with him anyway!]
[...Is that so? Then why'd he attack us?]
Giryu met my glance and answered confidently.
[He had ideological issues, but he was still one of ours. If we'd struck first, that'd be one thing—but getting hit from outside is different.]
[So... appearances matter, huh?]
[Give them an excuse, and there are plenty who'd bite. We only meant to make an example—no intent to kill.]
[...Even after pushing us that hard?]
[You were stronger than expected. The strong deserve respect.]
[...I see. Fighting for your life against someone who turns out not to be a real threat... yeah, nothing more deflating.]
I nodded in agreement, then voiced a fresh question.
[Are there factions, then?]
[Groups follow the eldest miss and young master. They're always looking to tear into us.]
[Siblings don't get along, I take it.]
[No. It's a critical time right now.]
[Critical time? What do you mean?]
[Not for an outsider's ears. If the world's end is your goal, this is just a path to pass through.]
[Hmm. Fair enough. I don't want to get dragged into needless trouble.]
I nodded slowly, and Giryu mirrored me.
With our talk seemingly wrapped, Lehatna—who'd been quietly listening—spoke up.
[You two done?]
[Yes, miss.]
[My questions are settled for now.]
[Okay! I don't like getting involved in tough stuff anyway! So, Nix, what now?]
[Not sure. No real plans. Just need some rest—I'm pretty worn out.]
Giryu cleared his throat with a 'hem-hem' at my glance.
[As I said, we weren't out for blood. Things just got heated. And I'm tired too.]
[It was a fun fight, so no complaints here. Just...]
A bit of regret at not finishing it properly.
Giryu caught my pointed look and nodded slowly.
[Next time, somewhere with solid ground to fight on.]
[...You noticed?]
[My eyes miss nothing.]
Giryu grinned, and my left head, who'd been watching silently, snorted.
[Who're you showboating for? Think you know what would've happened on solid ground? We'll see next time!]
Lefty's villainous tone made Lehatna's eyes light up.
[Whoa! You guys can talk too?!]
She lunged at him, and Lefty recoiled in horror.
[Gahhh—what?! Get off!]
[So cool! Can the other heads talk too? I wanna chat! Talk to me!]
[Get off! I said get off! Or I'll bite! Chew you up—crunch crunch!]
Even as Lefty snarled like he meant it, Lehatna clung on. Soon, the other heads joined in, turning the scene noisy.
The atmosphere grew chaotic in seconds. I flicked my tongue quietly.
Better for mental health to stay out of that racket.
[Don't just watch—get her off me!]
Lefty wailed for help, but I ignored him as always.
Like I said, steering clear was the smart move.
[Oh, so Nix! If you're okay with it, wanna come with us?]
[Come with? Where to?]
[My lair! Giryu was rude, and you need a place to rest—how about my lair?]
Lehatna spoke while wrapping around Lefty's long neck. I pondered briefly.
A glance at Giryu showed him glaring fiercely, as if refusing her would be unwise.
His eyes were sharper than during our fight. Almost funny.
Was this really the guy we'd battled so fiercely?
[No! Absolutely not! We have plenty of places to rest!]
[Aww, don't say that! There's tons of delicious food!]
[Hungry...]
Righty's eyes sparkled quietly, half-deciding it for me.
[Alright. I'll crash at your lair for a bit.]
[Yay! Thanks!]
[Gahhh—no! No way!]
[So much food... hungry...]
And so, we decided to impose on Lehatna's lair for a while.
For smoother travel, I used Inhwa's Art, which briefly startled Lehatna—but otherwise, we reached her lair without issue.
Instead of riding her back as she insisted, I went on Giryu's.
Her lair wasn't on this 85th floor—it was two floors up.
Passing 86 and 87, we hit the 88th.
The vast sky expanse meant nothing to Giryu, who covered thousands of ri in a single flap.
He claimed this wasn't even his top speed. Hard to imagine his full power.
At this pace, his flaps alone could devastate everything below...
A pointless curiosity bubbled up, but I didn't test it.
I just hoped the floating islands we'd passed stayed intact.
And so we arrived at Lehatna's lair.
I'd imagined a typical dragon lair as a massive cave, but hers was different in every way.
[The miss is back!]
[Welcome back, miss!]
[Everything go okay?]
[Who's that on Giryu's back? A guest!]
[Whoa! Time for a feast! Bring out all the good stuff!]
Dozens of monsters gathered on the sizable floating island.
Varied in type and appearance, but they shared one trait.
All low-rank.
Including those who couldn't even do mental speech, there had to be hundreds.
These low-rank monsters all greeted Lehatna warmly.
Neither she nor Giryu reacted unusually, taking it in stride.
Lehatna even dove right into the crowd, chattering happily.
I glanced at Giryu, who nodded calmly.
[She has a big heart.]
[...More than just 'big heart' territory, I'd say.]
[...Unlike that one, she's exceptionally kind. That's why I follow her.]
Was that one the Dragon King?
I stared for more explanation, but Giryu said nothing else.
He just moved carefully to avoid stepping on the little monsters at his feet.
The sight was so absurd, I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Was this really the guy who'd fought me so viciously?