The Dragon King's Palace
Was it because of what Lehatna had said?
After parting ways with Le Ganus, nothing obstructed our path.
We ascended the floors so smoothly it almost felt too easy.
92nd, 93rd, 94th.
We arrived effortlessly at the final floor under Le Ganus's influence, without any real interference.
Here, we spotted two groups of monsters locked in endless combat.
[That's the eldest miss and young master's groups.]
Giryu quietly descended to a nearby floating island, observing the fierce clash between the two sides.
[Melusio and Pluto.]
Giryu pointed out a blue-and-white wyvern and a massive octopus-like monster.
Both were SS-rank monsters, leading the forces of Leysia and Le Ganus, respectively.
[You know them?]
[They're all wings of the Dragon King, like me. Pluto's second, Melusio's third.]
The wyvern made sense, but calling that octopus Pluto a "wing" felt a bit off.
Even with all those writhing tentacles on display, nothing about it screamed wings.
[That's his one complex. His power suits the title, but without actual wings, he gets subtly discriminated against.]
[...And yet he's siding with Le Ganus, of all people—the one hardest on that kind of thing?]
[He probably figures earning merits under the young master will get him recognition.]
Giryu fell silent after that, focusing intently on the two fighters.
Neither seemed to be going all out, but each clash still sent massive ripples through the surrounding mana.
Neither was an opponent to take lightly.
A direct fight with either would be no walk in the park.
As we watched, the two sides—having battled for a while—began to slowly withdraw.
Neither camp was ready to force an end just yet.
As the groups retreated, the two leaders pulled back as well.
[Melusio! Next time, I'll rip those wings right off you!]
[Think you can keep up without any wings of your own, Pluto? I'm way too fast to get caught in those tentacles, don't you think?]
After that short but heated exchange, they finally noticed us watching from the sidelines.
[Giryu! You bastard! Who said you could show up here?!]
[Giryu? And even Lehatna miss... Nice to see familiar faces.]
Giryu flapped his wings leisurely toward the two, who eyed us with surprise.
[Long time no see, both of you.]
[Giryu! What gives you the balls to step into this territory? You think that oath with Le Ganus-nim lets you strut around?!]
The massive octopus, Pluto, writhed its dozens of tentacles grotesquely.
Lehatna, nestled in my coils, shuddered with a little "euugh."
I didn't show it, but even I found Pluto's form hard to look at straight-on.
[Still as arrogant as ever, Pluto. You should be greeting the miss first.]
[Hmph! The only one I bow to is Le Ganus-nim.]
[Insolent fool. And you call yourself a wing of the Dragon King?]
[Honoring a dead king gets you nothing, Giryu. The new Dragon King will be Le Ganus. I'll be his first wing.]
[With your skills?]
[If not for Le Ganus-nim's oath, I'd rip every wing off you right now, Giryu.]
[That's my line, Pluto.]
The air crackled with mana as they glared, unyielding, fierce winds whipping around them like they might lunge any second.
The one who stepped in was the blue-and-white wyvern, Melusio, who'd been quietly observing.
[If you're not actually planning to throw down, call it quits. It's rude in front of Lehatna miss.]
Pluto snorted, tentacles twitching at Melusio's flat tone.
[Think I care about that bratty Lehatna's feelings?]
[She's still the old lord's daughter. Mind your manners, Pluto. Or should we kick off round two?]
Pluto seemed to realize the odds weren't in his favor, with Melusio powering up quietly and Giryu glaring daggers.
He writhed his tentacles furiously for a moment, then snorted and turned away.
[Next time, I'll tear your wings off. Just you wait!]
He floated off like a balloon or hot-air balloon, wobbling into the distance.
Melusio watched him go, then murmured:
[The ones who say "just you wait" are never the scary ones.]
He added it playfully, then flew slowly toward us.
[Long time no see, Giryu. Doing well, Lehatna miss?]
His tone was polite—neither overly deferential nor cocky.
Lehatna burst from my coils at the sight of him.
[Yeah, long time! You been good, Melusio?]
[Same old for me. Except Leysia-nim works me to the bone.]
[How's sis?]
[Same as ever.]
[Good. Relieved to hear it.]
Melusio watched Lehatna nod solemnly for a moment, then his gaze shifted to me.
[And this must be the famous one everyone's talking about?]
[...Famous?]
[Yeah. The one who handed Le Ganus young master a real beating. Also infamous for hurting everyone's idol, Freya.]
-A lot of people want to meet you right now.
I shrugged at his teasing addition.
Melusio eyed me with interest, then shook his head like time was short.
[So, what brings you three here?]
[You should know why.]
Melusio grinned at Giryu's quiet question.
[Guessing's different from hearing it straight from you.]
[Still a jerk, huh.]
[Call it humorous. So, your business?]
[We came to see sis!]
Melusio nodded at Lehatna's bright shout.
[Figured as much. Things are about to get interesting.]
[Enough chit-chat. Time to guide us? Being in the young master's territory must be a hassle for you too.]
[Fair point... Normally, you couldn't just waltz in to see Leysia-nim on a whim, but... thanks to you running wild in his domain, things have been easier for us. I'll escort you as a special favor.]
Melusio flapped his wings and took off ahead.
[We'll go fast, so stick close. Don't zone out and lose us.]
[Pluto's one thing, but you've gotten cocky too, Melusio. The kid who was always slower than me.]
[Still growing. I'll get even faster. Don't get too cocky yourself, Giryu. You might lose me if you think of the old me.]
He shot back mischievously, then beat his wings powerfully.
True to his boast, he shot ahead in the blink of an eye.
Giryu murmured in quiet admiration.
[He's really sped up.]
[You good just admiring? Might actually lose him.]
Giryu shrugged off my jab like it was nothing.
[No matter how fast he gets, he's still a Dragon King wing. No worries.]
He beat his wings hard, mana surging as a fierce gale enveloped us.
[Might get rough—hold tight. Look after the miss especially.]
With that flat warning, Giryu became a streak of wind, chasing Melusio.
His speed was insane—I nearly slipped off for real.
Thus began a wild ride with zero regard for passenger safety.
I gripped his feathers tight to stay on.
Melusio and Giryu's flight dragged on.
We left Le Ganus's 94th floor, entering Leysia's 95th, but they showed no signs of slowing.
Instead, they ramped up the speed, turning it into a full-on race.
Both looked thrilled, but those of us riding Giryu were miserable.
I'd never felt motion sickness before, but it was hitting hard now.
The wind battering my face stung fiercely.
[Awesome! Faster!]
Unlike my suffering, Lehatna seemed to be having the time of her life.
I couldn't take their reckless speed contest anymore and quietly gathered mana.
Part of me wanted to revert to true form and blast them with breath, but that felt excessive—I held back.
Maybe dropping a Meteor on their heads would snap them out of it?
[Calm down, Nix! Our bad!]
[Yes! We're sorry! Stop now! You wanna wreck the whole area?!]
They finally slowed and begged, averting an actual meteor strike.
Should've behaved from the start.
With the speed eased, I could finally breathe.
We flew leisurely afterward, though still plenty fast.
96th, 97th, 98th.
No interruptions like in Le Ganus' territory, plus their competition, got us to the 98th quick.
As the 99th loomed, Giryu asked quietly:
[The eldest miss is still there?]
[Yeah. Seems she sees it as her duty.]
[...I see.]
I wondered at their cryptic exchange as we hit the 99th.
The Sky Zone's final floor.
The closest to the labyrinth's deepest depths.
I'd finally arrived.
A massive floating island—far larger than any before—greeted us, dwarfing entire floors.
A colossal rocky mountain loomed atop it like a fortress.
As I quietly marveled at its scale, Melusio spoke.
[Welcome to the Dragon King's Palace.]
[It's been a while.]
[Yeah. Long time.]
Lehatna and Giryu gazed at the overwhelming crag with nostalgic expressions.
Memories from when the Dragon King lived, maybe?
I left them to it and extended my senses.
A tremendous presence emanated from within the fortress-like mountain.
Vaster than anything I'd encountered.
No explanation needed—I knew Leysia was inside.
Suppressing rising tension and curiosity, we finally met her.
In a vast cavern inside the mountain-fortress, there she was.
A sleek, beautiful dragon compared to Le Ganus or Lehatna, with pristine white scales.
Leysia, the Lightning Dragon, greeted us with an emotionless face.
Her impassive expression was like a finely carved statue.
She stared at us in silence for a moment, then spoke in a flat voice that echoed softly in our minds.
[Lehatna.]
Lehatna answered slowly at the quiet call.
[Sis.]
She'd returned to her full size, facing Leysia squarely.
Her defiant gaze—unwavering—cracked Leysia's stoic mask for the first time.
[Lehatna, my little sister.]
Her voice was soft as she smiled faintly.
Unlike her looks, maybe she was as kind as Lehatna said?
As I watched quietly, the sisters' conversation continued for a while.