Chapter 510

Chapter 510

“Wow!”

At the massive entrance of the lair, Levin and Brielle’s eyes widened.

The height from floor to ceiling exceeded seventy meters.

It was enormous enough to fit a twenty-story building inside, and the sheer scale overwhelmed them.

“It’s this big?”

“This is insane!”

The two of them stood there with their mouths open, unable to close them.

Tesserina spoke to them with the expression of someone saying it was nothing special.

“This isn’t even big. My lair in Kurayan was at least twice this size.”

“Really?”

“My condition wasn’t good, so I rushed to get one and barely made it this big. If I’d had time, I would’ve found a proper place and decorated it.”

“This is already huge though?”

“A lair is a dragon’s pride. The size of the lair is directly tied to a dragon’s strength.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

“That’s just how dragons are. They stake their lives on appearances. We never think about efficiency, so productivity is nonexistent. Dragons are probably the least fuel-efficient species in the world.”

Despite being a dragon herself, Tesserina didn’t hesitate to insult dragons.

But that was what dragons were like.

Born with an overwhelmingly powerful ego, they centered everything around themselves and didn’t care about how others saw them.

Zeon stepped into the lair and said,

“Let’s stop chatting and go in. You said we’re short on time.”

“Yeah! I’ll lead.”

Tesserina nodded and moved ahead.

All the traps in the lair had been placed by her.

Naturally, she knew every structure and mechanism.

So she assumed she could pass the first-stage trap section without difficulty. But it didn’t take long for her to realize how complacent that thought was.

KWAaaaa!

The massive passageway was filled with ultra-high-temperature flames.

Originally, only basic traps like mechanical devices and illusion barriers were installed there.

Of course, those were things Tesserina could easily解除. But the trap that had activated wasn’t something she had set.

The ultra-hot flames filling the corridor roared like an erupting volcano—hot and violent enough to reduce any common beast or awakened person to ash in an instant.

But they were useless against Zeon’s group.

After all, Zeon was wearing the gauntlets equipped with a Red Dragon’s Eye—the Inferno Gauntlet.

To Zeon, who possessed the Red Dragon’s flame resistance and authority, such flame attacks were meaningless.

Zeon used the Inferno Gauntlet to absorb all the heat and flames filling the corridor.

Thanks to that, his party passed through the flaming passage without a single hair singed.

Even so, Tesserina couldn’t smile.

“Did it… change all the lair’s traps without me knowing?”

Tesserina muttered in disbelief.

She still shared consciousness with her main body.

Though she had two bodies, her mind remained one.

The parasite had replaced the traps without her noticing.

Tesserina’s eyes trembled.

The fact that she hadn’t perceived it meant the parasite had either altered or meddled with her memory.

It was clear the parasite was dominating her brain much faster and stronger than she’d expected.

“This can’t be…”

“You okay?”

“I’m not okay.”

At Zeon’s worried question, Tesserina shook her head.

A dragon neither forgets nor gets confused.

With an ego that strong comes a brain just as powerful.

Dragons remember events from thousands of years ago with perfect clarity. Memory loss is impossible. But now, for the first time, Tesserina was experiencing it.

She couldn’t trust her own memory?

There was no experience more horrifying.

For a dragon, whose identity and pride were sky-high, it felt even more devastating.

Yet, true to being a dragon, she quickly regained her composure and spoke calmly.

“From here on, don’t trust my memory. I don’t know how far the parasite has interfered or altered things. So from now on, treat this like a dungeon you’re entering for the first time.”

“Alright.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think it would breach my mental barrier and start rewriting things this quickly.”

“How much of your brain do you think it’s taken?”

“At least fifty percent, no doubt.”

“And if it takes more?”

“Then full control of my body will shift to it.”

“Then we really need to hurry.”

“Yeah.”

They moved deeper into the corridor. What awaited them were traps and magic circles completely different from Tesserina’s memory.

The order was jumbled, and some had been replaced with magic circles she had never seen.

So from stage one onward, they faced countless difficulties.

Only because Zeon’s entire party consisted of extraordinary awakened people did they manage to survive. Anyone else—beasts or awakened—would have melted at stage one.

“Whew…”

Clearing stage one, Zeon exhaled.

Mental fatigue hit him like a wave.

Traps that could be brute-forced were the easiest.

Because you didn’t need to think too much.

But these traps and magic circles were designed to wring out their mental strength to the extreme.

So the exhaustion his party felt was inevitable.

Still, they cleared stage one.

Now only this stage remained.

The place where the Specter King resided.

Tesserina addressed Levin carefully.

“Levin.”

“Yes, noona.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“As you know, my memory isn’t intact. It might be more dangerous than what I told you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Really?”

“That level of danger is something we have to endure. That’s what I learned from following hyung. The world’s full of unexpected threats. You can’t respond perfectly from the start. You adjust depending on the situation. I’m fully prepared.”

“…Alright. I’ll trust you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Levin smiled confidently. Even so, Tesserina couldn’t hide the uncertainty on her face.

Then Brielle stepped beside Levin and said,

“I’ll support Levin, so don’t worry.”

She spoke casually to almost everyone, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk that way to Tesserina, a dragon.

Not that Tesserina cared about such formalities.

Tesserina nodded.

“Okay. I’ll count on you.”

“Yes.”

Rumble—

As if waiting for that moment, the passage to the second gate opened, revealing an abyss-dark space.

At a glance, it looked like nothing was inside. But Levin knew.

Something like himself was in there.

Some formless presence floated in midair.

The problem was that he sensed more than one.

He felt hundreds of presences centered around a single overwhelmingly powerful one.

“Don’t tell me the Specter King reproduced?”

His uneasy guess soon became reality.

Countless specters emerged from the darkness.

Tesserina shook her head.

“It split the Specter King to multiply it.”

Anyone could tell at a glance.

That was her main body’s handiwork.

Only a dragon could forcibly split a Specter King and replicate it into complete entities.

But she had no memory of doing it.

The parasite must have used her body during the memory distortion.

She couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.

Levin spoke to the devastated Tesserina.

“Noona, I’m fine. Hurry and go to your main body.”

“But…”

“If we waste time, things will get worse. Going quickly is the best way to help me.”

“…Alright.”

Tesserina nodded weakly.

Someone as strong as an S-rank awakened wouldn’t feel tired from something like this.

It was the dissonance in her memories that tormented her.

Zeon asked her,

“There’s a passage to the main body, right?”

“Yeah. It’s right at the entrance to the Specter King’s gate. If Levin distracts it for a moment, I can open it.”

“Then let’s begin. Levin.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Fry them.”

“Yes, sir! Heh heh.”

Levin gave a villainous, eerie grin as he walked toward the Specter King’s gate.

By the time he reached the midpoint, his body had already turned ghostly, floating in midair.

Ssshhh—

As if waiting for him, the specters swarmed around him.

Once enough had gathered, Levin immediately unleashed Purple Lightning.

Crackle—!

A massive current spread like a net, lighting up the darkness.

Specters that had been silently approaching trembled violently under the blinding surge of electricity.

Hundreds of specters shuddering after being hit by the current was truly a sight.

Those hit directly lit up like glowing lamps.

But Levin’s expression wasn’t bright.

Because most of the specters hit by the high-voltage blast were unharmed.

“Looks like they all have electrical resistance.”

It was infuriating.

For an awakened person like Levin, who controlled thunder, beasts with electrical resistance were practically his worst match.

Zeon spoke to the irritated Levin.

“Need help?”

“I’m okay, hyung!”

“Really?”

“Yes! I’ve been preparing for this kind of situation. So don’t worry about us—just go to Tesserina’s main body. I’ll take responsibility here.”

“Yeah! Zeon, I’m here too. Don’t worry.”

With even Brielle stepping in, Zeon could only nod.

He turned to Tesserina.

“Open the passage.”

“Got it.”

As the specters converged on Levin, Tesserina used the distraction to open the secret passage.

Groooan—

As the heavy door opened, a massive specter pierced through the darkness.

A monstrous specter the size of hundreds fused together.

The Specter King.

KRRRRR!

Black lightning erupted from the Specter King’s body.

Its enormous bolt shot toward the passage where Zeon and Tesserina were—trying to keep them from entering.

“That won’t work.”

Crackle—!

Levin unleashed a massive surge toward the converging black lightning.

Giga Lightning.

BOOOOM!

The two thunderbolts collided midair, shaking the entire chamber.

Thanks to Levin blocking the Specter King’s attack, Zeon and Tesserina were unharmed.

Levin advanced toward the Specter King and shouted,

“I’ll handle things here! Hurry inside!”

“Alright. See you soon.”

“Yes, hyung!”

Leaving Levin’s spirited voice behind, Zeon and Tesserina entered the secret passage.

—Kuuuuoooooh!

Behind them, the enraged roar of the Specter King echoed.

The burden of that fury fell entirely on Levin and Brielle. But neither wore a hint of fear.

Brielle shouted,

“Liri!”

—Yeah!

“Let’s help Levin!”

—Okay!

With Liri’s spirited reply, the fierce battle began.