Chapter 305: Back to the White Room

"Huh? Why only those two?" Mirian and Helen complained in unison.

The archer took a step forward to get closer to Ryan, showing her great displeasure with Ryan’s decision.

"We are SS rank now, we should be with you at all times. Ryan."

Mirian questioned her leader’s order. She felt that her new power level was reason enough not to separate from him on any trip.

"Leave him alone, it’s Ryan’s order, so don’t complain."

Beatrice intervened from her place. The young infernal looked at them very seriously, not understanding why humans always had to make so much noise over such simple instructions.

"Hey Beatrice, don’t defend that presumptuous lizard."

Helen said in response. The swordsman pointed her finger at Lise, very annoyed that Beatrice seemed to be on the new member’s side.

"I am not defending her at all. It just seems like a good time for you to understand that you cannot be questioning every one of Ryan’s orders as if you were little girls."

Beatrice answered very calmly. She had no interest in fighting with Helen, she only wanted the group to maintain calm in the throne room.

"Come on, don’t fight over this. So that you stay calmer and don’t argue, I will go with him to the dungeon."

Karol said, approaching the other girls. The blue mage tried to calm the tense atmosphere with a kind smile and a quick proposal.

"No way!"

Beatrice, Mirian, and Helen denied in unison. None of the three was willing to let Karol take advantage of the situation to also go out with Ryan.

"Well, what can you do."

Karol said resignedly. The mage dropped her shoulders and took a step back, accepting her defeat immediately.

"But does this seem fine to you, Your Majesty? Will you really be okay going just with those two?"

Alicia said. The young beastwoman twitched her ears slightly forward. She showed her great concern for Ryan’s safety going out without the company of more warriors now that he doesn’t even have his chimera weapon with him.

"Yes, don’t worry. Alicia." Ryan answered from his place.

"But it’s not fair, why does it have to be them."

Helen intervened, making a useless pout. The swordsman refused to be left behind. She wanted to always be the first choice to protect him.

While Helen complained, Mirian and Karol nodded their heads to support her in her claim.

Ryan let out a heavy sigh seeing the attitude of his group. He fixed his gaze directly on Helen and Mirian, seeking for them to keep quiet once and for all.

"The fact that I have to explain in detail why they are the ones coming with me, is precisely the reason why you will stay here."

Ryan said in a sharp and firm tone. He was not going to listen to any more arguments about that topic. And they, unable to refute that hard logic of their leader, remained in complete silence.

It was a notable silence in the spacious hall that Lise immediately used to her advantage.

The dragon approached and hugged Ryan’s left arm very tightly. Lise looked at Helen very defiantly from that position.

"You already heard clearly. It is an order from my young master." Lise said in a tone loaded with malice and much mockery towards the human swordsman.

"That damn... I’ll kill her, I’ll kill her."

Helen said through her teeth. She clenched her fists with a lot of fury at the dragon’s so presumptuous attitude.

"You will not kill anyone. Just take care of this place while I am not here."

Ryan ordered, putting an end to the discussion once and for all. He freed his arm from Lise’s grip and prepared to leave.

"Do not worry, Your Majesty. I will take care of everything that needs to be done here in the castle if you take long to return."

Alicia exclaimed. She stepped between the rest of the girls and Ryan to avoid more problems or complaints in the place.

"Yes, I am counting on you. Alicia." Ryan answered. He raised a hand and patted the beastwoman’s head very gently before leaving.

Alicia twitched her ears and looked down, appearing very blushed by the physical contact from her leader.

"Hey!"

The other women complained at the same time upon seeing how Ryan treated Alicia with so much affection.

The only exception in the group was Beatrice. The demon turned halfway around without looking at them, bored of the whole scene.

"What nonsense."

Beatrice said through her teeth. She walked away from the group to return to her post near the entrance.

Then, the small group left the castle towards the exterior area. Lise opted to take her large white dragon form.

Ryan, together with Irina, mounted on her enormous back full of scales. Upon feeling Ryan’s weight on her back, Lise began to writhe very excitedly.

"Ah, it is so nice to have my master on top of me."

Lise murmured aloud, greatly enjoying the closeness with him.

"Don’t say nonsense, let’s go."

Ryan ordered so she would stop playing around.

Lise obeyed immediately. She moved her enormous wings and left the place flying at high speed towards the cold sky. While they advanced through the air at high altitude, Ryan noticed a very clear detail in his mount.

He realized that Lise was very fast. The wind hit their faces with more force than normal.

"You surprise me, Lise. You are faster than Ivis." Ryan commented aloud so the dragon would hear him over the noise of the wind.

And Lise, who did not expect to receive a compliment from Ryan so suddenly, was very surprised. The dragon became so happy that she began to wobble in the air. Her wings lost their rhythm and she almost caused Irina to fall off her back due to the sudden movement.

"Pay attention to what you are doing, silly." Ryan scolded her immediately. He held the elven princess’s arm tightly so she wouldn’t slip off Lise’s back.

"I am very sorry Ryan." Irina said embarrassed for almost falling off the enormous dragon’s back.

"I am sorry too young master." Lise added as well, but inside Ryan’s mind using their telepathic connection.

After Lise apologized for the scare she gave them, she began to speak again.

"The reason why I am faster than Ivis, is because besides flying, I use wind magic to propel myself." Lise explained with a lot of pride in her voice.

And while they advanced at high speed she made it very clear that, out of all the dragons that exist in the world, she is the fastest when it comes to flying through the sky. And for that reason, it took them very little time to cross the snowy terrain and reach the entrance to the dungeon.

Lise, upon seeing the magic portal from afar, glided towards it very carefully to land. She used her giant wings as a shield in front of Ryan and Irina upon touching the rift of the portal.

"I do it just as a precaution, dear master. You never know what is on the other side."

Lise said to justify her large defensive movement in front of the portal. But upon entering through the light of the dungeon, they realized that there was absolutely no one waiting on that first stone floor.

Although the sky dungeon was not a place just anyone could reach, the possibility still existed that someone might find it.

But for now, this was not the case. Everything was in silence. The great dungeon remained just as they left it when departing days ago to fight in the north. Lise began to glow and returned to her human form immediately.

"I had never been in an S rank dungeon, dear master."

Lise commented. She looked at the stone walls of the place with much curiosity in her two-colored eyes.

"And this whole immense place has a horrible smell. The deity’s mana is very intense in the air, how disgusting."

She said. Lise wrinkled her nose at the smell of the energy filtering throughout the place. And immediately she glued herself to Ryan’s chest. The dragon woman began to smell his clothes very closely.

"It is nothing like the ecstasy produced by the rich scent of the young master."

Lise said with a big smile on her face, pressing her cheek against him.

’She makes everything sound very perverted.’ Ryan thought, letting the dragon do what she wanted for a few seconds.

"Enough. Stop doing that please."

Irina said. The elven princess placed her hands between Lise and Ryan to push the dragon woman.

Irina used her strength and separated both of them. Her long elf ears were very red from the great embarrassment of seeing the dragon’s attitude in wanting to take advantage of the situation to do perverted things with Ryan.

"How boring you are, little elf."

Lise questioned, crossing her arms at Irina’s annoying interruption.

"Alright, let’s go. They haven’t heard anything from us inside the village for days. And the long-distance communication relics do not reach the territory of Kowarre, they must be worried not knowing what happened."

Ryan intervened. He accelerated his pace through the long stone corridors of the dungeon so as not to waste time.

"Relics of what?"

Lise asked with much curiosity about that strange word Ryan used.

"I’ll explain it to you after we arrive."

Ryan commented, and the three of them advanced through the dungeon’s floors without stopping.

They arrived without any problem to the hundredth floor of the dungeon, Ryan felt the atmosphere heavier than usual, due to the fact of not being able to avoid the memories of the past.

And soon they were standing in front of the final portal that led straight to the village.

Irina entered first through the rift of the portal. Lise followed her closely, anxious to see her master’s temporary home.

Ryan remained alone for a second in front of the glowing portal.

’I have a strange sensation in my body... But it is time to focus on completing this task, then I will take care of the next one. It seems I will have to be very busy for a long time with all these matters.’

Ryan thought to himself, trying to ignore his bad premonition. He took a big step forward and went through the magic portal that connects the hundredth floor of the dungeon with the elves’ village.

Ryan blinked upon crossing the door of light.

And in the precise microsecond that he opened his eyes, he realized that something was very wrong. The whole place around him was completely white. There were no trees, no wind, no sky of the elves’ village.

And a female voice, strangely familiar, resonated right behind his back in that white space so empty.

"You are still fighting for the wrong side, young Ryan. Or should I call you, the new demon king of the north?"

The woman’s voice spoke very clearly and calmly behind his back.

Ryan let out a long sigh. He felt the heaviness of someone who expected something inevitable sooner or later. He turned around towards the origin of the voice. Ryan maintained total calm, both in his body posture and in the look on his face.

"I really did not expect that I would see you here again. Udriela."