Debt 128 - A Demon King and Her SS-Rank Dragon

"Inspect." Ryan fixed his gaze on one of those two entities.

A woman with white hair and thick horns sprouting from her head. She had intense red eyes that observed the entire place with an inquisitive look.

Ding!

[Inspection has been interrupted]

Ryan frowned.

’How did they get here...?’

His thoughts raced for an instant.

But he had no time to hesitate.

"Inspect." He fixed his gaze on the other woman, the one with very long, green hair and a single horn growing from the center of her forehead.

[ CHARACTER STATUS ]

› Race: [Dragon]

› Threat Level: SS

› Elemental Manifestation: Water

› Titles: None

› Strength: 10,670 | Magic: 10,233 | Agility: 5,830 | Psyche: 6,100 | Stamina: 7,520 | Luck: 0 |

"..."

"Be careful. That green-haired woman is an SS-rank dragon, and the other must be the one she serves—the Demon King, Ophelia," Ryan said directly.

"A demon king, here...?" Alicia murmured before collapsing.

Irina fell to her knees at almost the same time.

"Sister... I feel sick..."

But Beatrice stood motionless, completely stunned. Her gaze reflected the fact that she didn’t know why Ophelia was here now, nor what her intentions were.

"They have an incredibly intimidating presence. Not just the Demon King, but her companion as well," Karol remarked, placing a barrier in front of them.

"Ryan, fighting those two... it’s going to be complicated. Be careful," Mirian commented, her bow in hand, aiming in the direction of the unexpected guests.

"Don’t worry, Mirian. I can handle that pair," Helen cut in.

"Don’t be reckless right now. This is going to be dangerous. Alicia! Get Irina and Theo inside the hideout."

"Your... Maj...esty..." Neither Alicia nor Irina seemed to be in any condition to do anything; somehow, the dense pressure of mana produced by the Demon King and her companion was affecting them far too much.

"Karol, take them inside, and make sure to protect them."

"Understood!" She readied her staff and used flight magic to make them levitate. "Just... be careful, Ryan..."

After making them levitate, she entered the hideout with them.

’That place isn’t exactly safe, but... it wouldn’t be wise to open the village portal in front of them...’

Although the two women who appeared as intruders still did nothing, the green-haired one remained silent.

The Demon King was looking around the place with curiosity, completely ignoring the presence of Ryan and the others around her.

But now that he had finally managed to seal the village entrance and move that same entrance to the dungeon, he couldn’t afford to simply open the portal without knowing what kind of power these entities might possess.

’It would be naive of me to think that only I would be capable of opening that portal. After all, there must be more than one way to force an entrance like that, especially if it’s Demon Kings who are trying it.’

But Ryan didn’t wait any longer; he immediately began to activate every buffing skill on himself and on each of the women in his group.

Helen had unsheathed her sword. Not just her; Mirian and Ryan were also alert and prepared.

Now, with their abilities buffed, Helen and Mirian didn’t wait, and they launched their attack before either of the intruders even acted.

The rain of arrows Mirian unleashed created a cloud of dust all around.

But not a single attack seemed to hit either of the two women.

"I didn’t expect to be received like this. How rude of you," the white-haired woman remarked, maintaining such calm that she seemed like she owned the place.

"I didn’t hurt them...?" Mirian murmured.

The arrows had vanished before even touching them.

Then the green-haired woman spoke.

"Lady Ophelia, do not say that. At this moment, we, who arrived without an invitation, are the rude ones."

"Oh? Is that really how it is?"

Mirian attacked again, repeatedly. But those attacks simply disintegrated before they could touch them.

’How did they avoid that? I don’t understand it.’

But the white-haired woman uttered a few brief words.

"Iris, what is this place?"

She asked the woman beside her.

But it was exactly at that moment that Helen vanished from her position.

BOOM.

Her sword impacted directly against the green-haired woman’s chest.

The blow shook the entire dungeon and sent the dragon back several meters.

"Don’t act so confident, you bitch!" Helen grumbled, gripping her sword and keeping her eyes on the one she had just struck.

But that green-haired woman, even though she had been hit, stood up as if nothing had happened.

’In terms of resilience, she is above Helen... but the real problem here is that Demon King.’

"It is a dungeon, my Lady Ophelia. And it appears to be S-rank," she replied, keeping her eyes closed and showing great calm as she wiped the dust from her clothes. "But we arrived exactly where we intended. Just look closely."

"She didn’t take any damage even though it was Helen who hit her?" Mirian murmured.

At the green-haired woman’s response, the Demon King, Ophelia, looked at Ryan’s group with more detail.

"Oh, it’s true. There is little Beatrice."

Ryan glanced sideways. Beatrice was standing with her shoulders hunched in total silence, almost as if she were hiding behind him.

"Tsk, little? What does this mean, Beatrice?" Helen asked threateningly, gripping her sword tightly.

"Are you the one responsible for this Demon King being here? Did you dare betray us?"

"Hey, Helen, stop jumping to conclusions," Mirian replied.

"Shut up. I can’t find any other logical answer. How is it possible for the two of them to be here right after Beatrice returned from their territory?"

Ryan moved forward slowly.

The sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the dungeon.

"Calm down, Helen. It’s possible they simply followed her. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were it."

"But Ryan!"

"I know, but leave your conclusions for later, will you?"

"How fascinating. So you are the infamous Ryan I’ve heard so much about?"