A terrifying giant dragon burst out from beneath the ground, its sharp horn piercing through the floor, its ferocious head filling half the hall.
It was the sa Dark Dragon from the illusion earlier—the one that had lost a horn.
The mont it saw Shane and Frieren, the Dark Dragon opened its massive jaws, spewing scorching flas without hesitation.
Shane reacted instantly, pulling Frieren into the Goddess's Barrier.
The flas slamd against the barrier and were successfully blocked.
Even so, the heat that seeped through made Shane feel as if the surface of his skin had been scorched in an instant.
Monts later, the dragon stopped breathing fire. It glanced ahead, saw that its targets had disappeared, and, satisfied, closed its eyes. Its massive head sank back into the ground.
Shane and Frieren didn't dare make a sound. They waited inside the barrier for a while until everything fell silent again, finally letting out a breath of relief.
It had all happened too suddenly. Without the barrier, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The two quietly retreated toward the main gate, but no matter how they pushed or what magic they tried, the door refused to open.
"Maybe this door has so ridiculous setting like 'cannot be opened from this side.'"
Shane couldn't help but complain.
Frieren frowned and began observing the surroundings, searching for another exit…
On the throne—
The Dwarf King was still repeating the final words he had spoken before his death:
"You beasts who devour people… go to hell together with the Dark Dragon!"
Just like the chanical construct they had seen in the celebration hall before.
Endlessly looping.
Frieren watched the scene, a hint of emotion in her eyes.
"The dwarves have never believed that souls go to heaven after death. Eisen once said that, in their traditions, they believe the soul returns to nothingness."
"But for the Dwarf King to remain here in the form of a soul… it seems that even in death, his will to protect his people was strong enough to transcend the boundary between life and death."
Shane was deeply moved by her words.
This kind of self-sacrifice for one's nation stirred genuine respect within him.
At the fall of a kingdom, how many kings or emperors could truly possess such resolve?
He stepped forward unconsciously and patted the Dwarf King's shoulder in the air.
"Rest easy, my friend. The Demon King has already been defeated. The world is at peace now. The dwarves haven't been wiped out either. Everything you did… it wasn't in vain."
He had only spoken out of emotion, but the mont his voice fell, the Dwarf King's soul began to fade.
Until it completely disappeared without a trace.
Frieren looked astonished.
"You can soothe souls… You really do have talent as a priest!" (T/N: oh! for the love of God xD! No ans no hahaha)
Shane was speechless.
"I didn't do anything! I just talked to him!"
"And stop bringing up priest talent! I've said it already—I'm not becoming a priest. Not now, not ever!"
Frieren shook her head, clearly disappointed.
Shane was irritated.
Just then, a deep rumbling breath echoed from below.
The two imdiately fell silent.
They searched around again but still found no way out. Their gazes slowly shifted toward the abyssal crack in the center of the hall.
"We've got no choice. We'll have to go down into the abyss and see if there's an exit near the dragon," Shane suggested.
"Alright."
Frieren grabbed him and used flight magic to descend. The two held their breath, landing quietly in the depths below.
Then they froze at the sight before them.
The lower half of the Dark Dragon's body was bound by countless thick chains. The chains dug deep into its flesh and bones, their other ends disappearing into the earth.
It was imprisoned here.
Behind it stood a massive, awe-inspiring furnace.
A thought involuntarily surfaced in Shane's mind:
'Don't tell … the dwarves tied this thing up here and used it as a blow torch?'
The mont that thought appeared, the dragon, which had been dozing, suddenly opened its eyes.
It imdiately spotted Shane and Frieren. Without hesitation, it unleashed a blast of fire toward them.
Frieren reacted instantly, deploying Defensive Magic to shield them.
Using the flas as cover, Shane quickly activated the Goddess's Barrier, and the two vanished from the dragon's sight once again.
After the fire subsided, the dragon tilted its head, searched briefly, and, upon finding nothing, closed its eyes and resud its nap.
Shane and Frieren stayed hidden inside the barrier, not daring to act rashly.
"I can kill it directly with a fully charged Zoltraak," Frieren said.
"Maybe… don't?" Shane replied.
"Why?"
"Judging by this setup, the Dark Dragon was imprisoned here by the dwarves to guard this ruin. If we kill it, who will protect the ruins in the future?" Shane hesitated. "Maybe we should just leave it as it is, keep it chained here, and sneak out."
Frieren frowned at his words.
"A demon is a demon. It cannot be tad or reford. The fact that the dwarves sealed it underground and only intended to use it in their final monts proves they understood this as well."
"Demons cannot be companions."
As she spoke, she raised her staff and aid at the dragon's head.
"We can't let even a single demon go. If soone stumbles in here in the future, they'd beco the dragon's al. Anyone hard because of that would be the result of our false rcy right now."
Her words struck Shane like a hamr.
He suddenly realized what a foolish thought he had just entertained.
He had felt sympathy for a demon dragon.
The Dwarf King had just said before dying—to send demons and the Dark Dragon to hell together.
Yet he had thought the dragon could be tad as a pet. What a ridiculous idea.
His expression turned serious.
"Frieren… forget what I said earlier. The dwarves were right. Showing rcy to an enemy is the most foolish thing you can do."
Frieren smiled faintly, satisfied, and released a fully charged spell.
Slash—
The dragon turned to ashes in its sleep, slowly dispersing.
With the dragon dealt with, the two approached the massive furnace.
Thousands of years had passed, and the once-grand structure was now completely decayed. The operating lever crumbled the mont it was touched.
Shane looked up. Carved into the furnace in bold dwarven script were the words:
Black Iron Legacy.
He looked at the iron handle he had just broken off, then glanced at the encrypted text in his hand, utterly disappointed.
No way… the treasure ntioned in the cipher was this furnace?
What a scam!
All his strength seed to drain away. Already ntally exhausted, he felt like collapsing on the spot.
After all this effort… just for a rusty furnace???
As he sighed repeatedly, Frieren pointed behind the furnace, where there was a small hole resembling a vent.
With no better option, Shane grumbled as he followed her. The two crawled through the narrow passage for what felt like forever—so long that Shane thought his knees would fall apart—before finally seeing daylight again.
They erged onto a high cliff in the Neck Mountains.
From there, they could overlook the entire Blackrock Mountain.
The once-split mountain had closed again, as if nothing had ever happened.
The dwarves' buried history had once more been sealed beneath the earth.
Frieren glanced at Blackrock Mountain, then looked further north beyond the Neck Mountains, a gentle smile on her face.
"We can bring Eisen here soday. He'd definitely be interested."
Shane couldn't help but quip, "Then we'd have to capture a big demon and kill it on the spot."
"Hmm… alright, we can just tell him about it."
Following Frieren's gaze, Shane looked northward.
That was the direction of the Central Lands.
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