The demons advanced through the darkness. Sera led the way, followed by Bel, then Gustav who refused to let a young girl walk ahead of him, and finally Dahak bringing up the rear. It was odd that the guide was at the very back.
“Ah, Efil-neesan, that spot—”
“A floor trap, right? Let’s go around, around~”
“That too, but on the right side—”
“I know without you telling me. You mean the Dragon King is beyond that big presence, right? You can leave it to me, Sister, I won’t fail!”
“Indeed, Bel is correct. Therefore, Sera is also correct!”
“………”
With this kind of coordination, not a single trap was sprung, and they didn’t take a wrong turn towards the Dragon King’s location. It was around this time that Dahak finally began to realize his guidance wasn’t needed. Well, it was about time.
The party emerged from the consistently narrow passageway into a slightly more open area. A draconic presence could be felt there.
“Fuhahahaha, you’ve come, intruders! I, the First Squad’s Assault Captain, Lord Gilze, will spill your bloody!?”
—*DOGAAN!*
“Alright, got him!”
The voice’s owner, who had been waiting in the room, was punched by Sera the moment he appeared and sent flying, resulting in a tremendous impact sound as if he’d hit a wall. Though unseen, Sera seemed satisfied with the feeling of hitting a handsome face.
“S-Sera-neesan, please at least listen to his introductory speech for a moment…”
“Huh? They were radiating hostility, so I thought they were a Monster and punched them. They were quite big, too… Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not that it’s not allowed. It’s your fault for creating an opening yourself.”
“Indeed, I understand that.”
“………”
Dahak quickly gave up on persuading her.
“I-Is that so… This guy is one of my dad’s subordinates. I believe he’s Gilze, the Black Dragon. He’s a legitimate Ancient Dragon and an S-Rank Target of subjugation on the surface. He’s really committed with that assault uniform and spirit, huh?”
“Assault uniform? What’s that? It’s interesting that a dragon is wearing something like that. It’s a shame I can’t see it.”
“No, Sera-neesan, it wouldn’t suit you, or rather, it might suit you. You all have sharp gazes, and I have a feeling you could pull off wearing a Sarashi and looking imposing as a family…”
Incidentally, the attire Dahak envisioned was close to that of a biker gang. Sera would be the leader of the women’s division, and Gustav more of a boss. It suited them, perhaps too well.
(However, wearing a Sarashi wouldn’t make sense on him…) Dahak stared intently at a certain spot. He wouldn’t say where.
“Hey, I feel like you just thought something incredibly rude?”
“No no, I’m complimenting you. Not many people can pull off an assault uniform, you know?”
“Naturally. Serabel looks good in anything! Aren’t you starting to understand, son of Dagok?”
“I still feel like I’m being deceived somehow… (Glare!)”
This inconveniently sharp intuition, which could read thoughts, undoubtedly came from Sera’s sister. Dahak wanted to change the subject quickly, so he glanced around with his eyes, looking for something to comment on. Suddenly, Gilze, with his upper body embedded in the wall, caught his eye.
“R-Right! From here on, my dad’s subordinates should be waiting, just like this Gilze. Even if you know the correct route, it’s probably not good to let your guard down carelessly, I think!”
“Eh? Are you saying they’ll each be waiting in their own post like this? Why don’t they all come at us together?”
“There’s a sense of aesthetics to it, isn’t there? I heard from Brother Kelvin that your Four Heavenly Kings also fought one by one, right? You built a tower and even prepared dedicated rooms for them, didn’t you?”
“…That was Papa’s preference.”
Bel made a gesture as if thinking for a moment, then quickly turned her face away.
(Heh, I won.)
Dahak, taking advantage of Bel not seeing his expression, quietly struck a victory pose without making a sound. The thrill of defeating Bel without conflict coursed through him, and the Mole King’s face was filled with joy. However, he didn’t seem to notice that his actions were becoming increasingly petty.
“Black Dragons are generally hot-tempered, but they’re strangely formal in some ways. They’re probably testing our strength like this. Hmph, that Dagok fellow still seems to enjoy one-on-one fights.”
“…I was thinking, with that strength, wouldn’t it just end with Sister Sera’s reflex, so it wouldn’t matter if they were here or not?”
“Don’t say that, it’s sad… The Vice-Captain and the Royal Guard Captains, and so on, up to the Tenth Squad are probably waiting from now on.”
“Ugh, how incredibly troublesome…”
“Hey, hey, let’s hurry!”
Following Sera’s urging voice, Dahak and the others stepped into the next darkness. After that, similar impact sounds rang out numerous times, and each time, there were dragons with their upper bodies embedded in the walls. When the heads of the First to Tenth Squad, all present and accounted for, were embedded in the walls, the great door at the very back opened as if they were the key.
“It would be a problem if we broke someone else’s door! It’s a relief that it opened!”
“Sister, you’ve already committed property damage by embedding them in the wall.”
“Damaging it during a fight is a separate matter!”
“That’s true.”
“Papa thinks so too.”
“Alright, I’m gradually getting used to this vibe! Yo, Dad, are you in there!? Your son is back!”
While Dahak’s words now seemed half desperate, he uttered the lines he likely prepared initially. The room beyond the great door was, as expected, entirely dark, and Sera and the others couldn’t see the scene beyond. However, Dahak, a Black Dragon who received his father’s blessing, could clearly see what lay beyond. Dahak’s gaze was fixed on one point within the darkness.
“Oh, you’re back, drag-son. It seems your empty boasts have improved, haven’t they? Hmph.”
“Ugh.”
“That’s quite a deep voice…”
The voice that boomed from the darkness was, as Bel said, quite intimidating. It clearly didn’t give off a respectable aura.
“What, I thought there were big presences for you. So Gustav is here too.”
“It’s been a while, old friend. Though I can’t see you in this darkness.”
“Tch, you’ve brought quite the big shots this time. Fine, I’ll thin out the darkness for you for now.”
As the gruff voice said this reluctantly, the darkness beyond the door gradually began to recede. Though there was no light, the darkness retreated. After this strange phenomenon, Sera and the others could finally make out the general appearance of the room beyond.
((…Wow))
Sera and Bel both thought this quietly in their hearts. The fact that they didn’t voice it expressed a subtle sense of good upbringing and kindness. But why did Sera and Bel feel that way? It was because they saw the Dark Dragon King emerging from the darkness, and the Black Dragons lined up along the walls with their arms around each other’s backs. Each of them wore mufflers adorned with countless characters, seemingly imitating Kanji, that were neither skillfully drawn nor poorly drawn, honestly quite bizarre. Was this the assault uniform Dahak mentioned? The haphazard wrapping made it look like a poorly made mummy costume, that was the unspoken thought.
“Well, well, it really was Gustav. To die and come back to life, you’ve got quite a spirit, haven’t you? Are those beautiful ladies with you your daughters?”
Although he spoke with a certain gravitas, the content didn’t register at all due to the abnormal situation. Gustav, too, began a normal conversation, saying something like “You haven’t changed either.” It seemed this was their usual dynamic. Sera and Bel asked Dahak for an explanation.
“That, it’s Mom’s own creation. Her outfits when she’s in human form are still okay, but when she’s in dragon form, if she doesn’t have Efil-neesan’s super skills, this is her limit… (muttering)”
“D-Do you have to wear assault uniforms even if it goes this far? (muttering)”
“No, everyone’s scared of Mom, so they can’t complain about what she made now… (muttering)”
“………”
Upon hearing this, it turned out that the Black Dragons Sera had been punching were all dressed similarly.
