Chapter 1462.1

The foolish pile of bones had tried to command something far beyond its abilities. Yet, it couldn't even show a fraction of its own strength before Evangeline reduced it to a handful of ashes with her Dragon Breath.

Even considering the mana backlash, she hadn't expected it to die that easily. Liches were incredibly rare beings, and preserved their existence through a medium known as a phylactery.

In fact, most of the liches that had crossed paths with her father had possessed multiple lives, almost like cats.

Yet, the one she faced had believed the bone dragon was the ultimate creation, so obsessed with constructing and controlling it that he'd abandoned every other advantage for the sake of that dream.

That didn't mean he was weak, of course. After all, he’d completely incapacitated Crama through a clash of mana alone and toyed with Prince Khrones, who was a genius by any standard.

If Evangeline hadn't been there, the young noble inheritors from every nation would've been slaughtered inside the dungeon. Though, technically, the situation was still ongoing.

[Hey. That breath attack seemed a lot stronger than usual.]

Evangeline quietly replied to Shiverwock, who was hiding in the shadows. “I don't really know why, honestly. I guess I got a little carried away.”

[Well, whatever.]

When it fell silent again, Evangeline searched through the lich's remains for anything that might be useful before letting out a sigh and lamenting, “Nothing's left.”

“Lady Evangeline... Just what are you?” Prince Khrones asked in a confused tone.

At the moment, her ears were pointed, and a pair of small dragon horns had protruded from her head. She nonchalantly replied “What’s the matter?”

His eyes were full of confusion.

Evangeline looked down bitterly at the dress she wore, covered in dust from the breath attack she’d just unleashed. “Mom picked this dress out for me...”

It was a gift from someone precious.

When she'd faced that bone dragon made from a full-fledged dragon—or rather, hatchling—she'd lost her temper without realizing it and drawn out too much power.

“Let's get moving,” she told the three around her. “If we stay here without finding the others, people are going to keep needlessly dying.”

The trio which had been standing there in a daze snapped back to reality. Anyone with common sense would recognize what would happen if the sons and daughters of noble families from every nation died in a mass disaster.

“Before that...” Evangeline looked back down at herself with another sigh before continuing, “I do need to change. Lady Eosha, could you help me?”

“Of course. Though, I'm not sure we'll find anywhere suitable...”

Hearing the implication, Khrones and Crama both turned bright red and awkwardly cleared their throats.

“W-we... we'll look the other way, my lady.”

“You just need to turn around.” At the same time, the space behind Evangeline's shoulders tore open, and a massive pair of dragon wings emerged. They wrapped around her and Eosha. “This should do, as long as there aren't any peeping creeps.”

Using her partially manifested wings as a screen, she took out a set of Earth clothes from her expansion pouch. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Eosha gave her a curious look. “What an unusual outfit.”

“Could you untie the back for me? I don't wear clothes like this very often, so I'm not used to them,” Evangeline asked quietly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Eosha smiled faintly as she loosened the ribbons tied behind her dress. “Don't worry, you saved my life. The least I can do is help with something like this.”

Rustle.

Even the sound of brushing clothes seemed too much for Khrones. His face turned as red as a tomato as his eyes darted around nervously. “Ahem! Cough!!”

Although he was facing the opposite direction, he seemed unable to stop his active imagination, fueled by the subtle sounds alone.

“Khrones,” Crama suddenly called.

“I-I wasn’t! I wasn't thinking anything weird!!!” Khrones blurted out, clearly startled like someone with a guilty conscience.

Crama looked at him with exasperation. “What are you talking about?”

“...Ahem. Right. My apologies.”

“More importantly... what exactly do you think we just witnessed? What the hell happened there with that lich?”

“I have no idea.”

Even after seeing it with their own eyes, it was something hard to believe. The necromancer who had radiated overwhelming power had been shattered alongside the bone dragon... after only two strikes.

“One thing’s certain, though.” Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Crama glanced at the enormous wings. “If you ask me, Lady Evangeline is clearly something beyond human. Most likely... well, considering her traits, she resembles the dragons described in ancient texts. Her eyes changed into the distinctive eyes of the dragon race, and now there's... this.”

“Couldn't it all just be simple magic?” Khrones argued. “Besides, if she really is a dragon, then she'd only be a hatchling. Are you saying a hatchling just wiped out a full-fledged bone dragon with a single breath attack? Weren't you the one who said hatchlings can't even unleash a proper breath attack?”

“Hmm. I don't know anymore. Still, one fact remains—she saved our lives.”

“Above all, Ratius losing to her...”

“That's right. She must have gone incredibly easy on him. He was never her equal to begin with.”

The puzzling pieces finally began to fall into place. Knowing Ratius’s personality, they knew there was no way he'd have intentionally lost.

At that moment, the wings surrounding the two vanished. Beside Eosha Patrick, whose cheeks were puffed out in a faint pout, stood Evangeline in a beautiful one-piece dress.

Khrones froze with wide eyes, and Crama sighed at the sight. “My goodness. I've never seen someone with such an enviable figure.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“N-ot at all!” Khrones answered so nervously that Evangeline tilted her head in confusion, while Eosha gave him an odd look.

“I’m sure everyone who was in the banquet hall was thrown into this dungeon. Thankfully enough, it seems like they aren’t being killed right away, but if something goes wrong, there's no telling what might happen.”

“I see... You're saying we need to find them before it's too late, aren't you, m’lady?”

“Yes. I'm going to go continue exploring down this path and save everyone I find. What about you two?”

At her question, Khrones confidently answered, “Of course we're gonna come with you! I know you're strong, but protecting and leading that many people alone won't be easy.”

“I don't really mind either way, but it'd be troublesome if you got hurt, so try to keep up.” Evangeline strode without hesitation toward the tunnel that split into five different paths.

“W-wait, m’lady! Traps could go off if you just charge in!” Crama shouted in alarm, but Evangeline shook her head.

“I can even smell survivors, and I can hear them coming from this direction. Whatever's waiting ahead, I'll just force my way through, so follow me.” She stepped forward, and the floor beneath her immediately sank. At the same time, a section of the wall slid open, and a gigantic axe blade shot toward the back of her head.

“My lady!!!”

Khrones rushed toward her in panic, but Evangeline instantly arched backward with incredible flexibility, letting the axe narrowly sweep over her head before it vanished back into the wall.

Watching the axe retract back, she bitterly muttered, “I wish they'd just stay put instead of moving around...”

Of course, traps weren't the only things blocking her path.

“Grrrr...”

Monstrous blade mantises slowly emerged, closing in on them with heavy steps.

Khrones instantly tensed up, shouting, “It’s blade mantises! Crama, can you still fight?!”

However, he simply pointed ahead with a blank expression.

“Hm?” The moment Khrones turned his head in confusion, Evangeline slowly walked toward the monsters with the divine dragon sword Twilight in one hand.

“SHEEEK!!”

The mantises lunged with the speed of a pouncing predator. The instant Evangeline shifted ever so slightly, her figure blurred, leaving behind a faint afterimage as she slipped past the blade mantises.

At the same time, the dark Aura Blade coating her sword traced a figure eight through the air, slicing the mantises' hardened forelegs and bodies into pieces.

Khrones muttered in disbelief, “My goodness... That was Aura Blade.”

“Let's go.”

Without the slightest hesitation, Eosha stepped directly onto the path Evangeline had taken.

Crama and Khrones exchanged dazed looks before quietly following after her.

* * *

Evangeline didn't naively believe she could save everyone.

If even Khrones, the strongest among those who had attended the banquet, struggled so to survive, the others stood little chance against the endless waves of monsters and traps in the dungeon.

Even so, she had to save as many people as she could.

‘If too many people die here, this could spiral into a massive international conflict.’

After all, the incident had begun inside the Pallan Imperial Palace. Even worse, there was likely someone within the imperial family working with the attackers.

With that in mind, Evangeline picked up her pace. She stopped avoiding traps and simply smashed straight through them. Every monster she encountered, she tore apart without slowing down.

She called out, “Shiverwock.”

[What is it?]

“Is there any way you can split up and rescue the others who are scattered throughout the dungeon?”

[I'm not like that rabbit bastard. I can't move around on a large scale.]

“At this rate, a lot of people are going to die.”

[Then why don't you just completely manifest your power?]

“That wouldn't solve the real problem. Besides, we still don't know what kind of place this is. If I grow too large and the dungeon collapses...”

Yes, Evangeline possessed tremendous power, but she wasn't as versatile as Davey. She couldn't solve every problem as perfectly as he could.

At that moment, all she could do was find the others as quickly as possible and protect them, or hopefully stop things before they became any worse.

Even then, she wasn’t sure if that would actually mean the end.

‘What would Dad have done?’

Repeating the question over and over in her mind, Evangeline pressed onward.

Without the uncomfortable heels and restrictive dress, she moved like a fish back in water.

Click!!

“SSSS!!!” Several giant spiders emerged accompanied by other traps and hissed menacingly. Nonetheless, Evangeline nonchalantly passed by, lightly stepped on each one to decapitate them.

Thud. Thud.

By then, the three following behind her had reached the point where nothing she did surprised them anymore. Instead, they simply thought that Evangeline was just doing Evangeline things.

At one point, Prince Khrones spoke up to say, “Ummm. Lady Evangeline?”

“Yes?”

“You asked me to keep your secret earlier. What are you planning to do about everyone else?”

“You’re right. I did tell you not to tell anyone...”

“If you'd like, we’ll handle things from now on, my lady,” he offered.

“I don't think that's... Well... Your Highness...” After hesitating for a moment, she gave a bitter smile and continued, “You're too weak.”

“Hmph?!” Khrones staggered at her blunt yet innocent honesty.

“Don't worry. It's not like I absolutely have to hide it. I just don't want everyone making a fuss over it. If I really have to, I'll just stick to using my sword.”

She giggled as though it were no big deal. The others, however, couldn't laugh.

It was then.

“Ah...” Evangeline suddenly froze before taking off at full speed. The others hurried after her.

A surprising sight awaited them.