33 To The Demon Lord's Castle.

"It's been 3 hours since they set out… Will they be okay?" Caryl asks me.

They set out from the mansion's garden about 2.5 hours ago. Great Velkra told me that the Demon Army would be marching from the eastern part of the empire and her intuition turned out to be correct.

"Oh, they'll be fine. It's not like Carmine and Felia are kids anymore. They have great Velkra with them." I say.

"But I think Great Velkra might need some care too. I'm worried about her… It's like she is my kid… But I can't say that because she is our Master now…" She says.

Apparently, Great Velkra set out late at night and put up a barrier around the eastern vicinity. That was a clever move to trap the mouse when it comes out of his hole. She got a hit on her barrier when the gate opened and sensed a surge of mana that led to the confirmation that the Demon Army was invading and from the east indeed.

"I get your feelings. She was only 19 when she died in her world. This world might be a bit new to her and there might be many chances that she could get hurt. But she won't. She fought a demon and he couldn't put a scratch on her remember?" I say.

Dying is a state of life that no one can escape. Anyone could die at any point. but this does not apply to spiritual beings and divine ones. One could also work hard to achieve the level but most humans burn out their life spans in the pursuit so there haven't been many divinities among humans. Only dragons. But this does not apply to her world. She was involved in an accident with a moving vehicle and died from that. I'm sure it would have been painful, but this world gives her new possibilities as she is an Elder Dragon now and she gives me some wild premonitions that she could lead this world to prosperity. Why do I believe that? Well, we'll see when we live our lives in the future.

"But even so… I can't help but get worried…"

"Then what you are doing is not believing in her. I believe that she will resolve that matter and come back fine along with Carmine and Felia." I say.

Worrying about someone and loving them in such a short time… This is my wife alright. She can worry about everything and everyone without showing the signs so it's good that she Is telling me this.

"I see… Then I will apologize to Great Velkra for my rudeness to not believing in her completely…" She says.

"You won't be needing to do that. You must love her to find yourself worried. And you know yourself that Great Velkra does not require apology over every trivial matter." I tell her.

"I just hope they get back soon…"

When we went through the world gate, we were dumbstruck by the scenery in the next blink.

A world of red and black. Was this world always like this? This destructed? This is definitely not normal. The air I saturated with too much mana to the point that I can see visible mana particles floating around.

This is bad, Right Twixie?

[Definitely. Excess of mana can really distort things.]

Only distort them? This doesn't seem distorted but it looks as if this world is ending…

[It is. The excess of mana is breaking this world apart. Remember the mana storm that created a tornado? Then this is on a global scale. This world will be soon destroyed.]

Could it be…?

[Most possibly.]

Right.

I'll calmly deal with this.

"Felia, Carmine, This place is saturated with mana. Can you sense it?" I ask them.

"I can. This is an abnormal level of mana. With this much mana, everything in this world along with nature and the ecosystem must be distorted and contaminated." Says Carmine.

"But how can one live in such dense mana?" asks Felia.

Hmm… looks like there I a barrier over us… it's fairly weak and it's on the verge of breaking too…

That must be why so much mana is in here. That barrier must've kept the mana out there to some extent and now there is a leakage in here.

"Looks like there is a barrier here. It keeps the mana out but it's now breaking." I say.

"Velkra… Could it be…?" says Felia.

"You get it? I thought about it too. Let's keep our hands to ourselves for a bit. Don't engage in combat unnecessarily. We need to know what's going on first." I say.

It's clear just from looking at these conditions why one would try to do what the demons could be doing. There is a chance but we must be on our toes if they turn out to be the opposite.

But being the opposite does not have much chance. They looked mostly like humans. Just with longer life spans and stats. They could be fighting for their survival here.

"Velkra. Look there." Carmine points in the distance to our front.

"Is that a castle? It looks so destroyed…" says Felia.

I look in the direction where Carmine was pointing and see that there is a castle of pitch black there. It looks worn down, and on the verge of crumbling.

"We are going there. I'm picking up some life signs there. The demon lord could be there." I say.

This much mana makes it harder for me to map the terrain. This place has so much mana that the objects in my world perception are just being sensed as mana. They are all blurry and obscure but I am still trying to discern them in my head.

[ATTENTION!]

[NEW SKILL ACCQUIRED]: [MANA IMMUNITY]

What? Twixie? Do you get that?

[Apparently, your struggling to sense everything in this mana gave you that skill. The mana is also being absorbed into your bodies so the system gave you the skill. Put up a much stronger barrier with his skill. Felia and Carmine could get sick from mana overload.]

The mana was being absorbed?! No wonder I was feeling all dizzy!

"Hey are you guys alright?! Do you feel any dizziness?!" I ask them in a panic.

"Now that you mention it… I do feel a bit wobbly…" says Carmine.

Shit! Tell me things like these sooner!

[Even I didn't pay attention. It's my fault too…]

I'll put up a barrier. I'll try something new this time.

[Dome of Falling Stars] With attributes [Physical Attack Nullification], [Magic Attack Nullification], [Mana Immunity], [Eden's blessing] for healing, and one more for precaution, [Devourer from Darkness]. Initiate.

Doing this is a bit hard since I'm combining so many skills and magic.

[Normal people aren't able to do that. And it's only easy because I'm the one processing the info!]

You are?

[Yes! Care about me!]

Okay~

The [Eden's blessing] will cure their mana overload and the [Devourer from Darkness] is just a precaution. It destroys anything that comes in contact with the barrier from outside so the mana won't get in here. This magic is truly overpowered and dangerous.

"You alright now?" I ask.

The barrier was put up a moment ago and I can see their bodies faintly glowing, Showing that they are being healed from the fatigue caused by the mana overload. The barrier now has a darker tint to it since I added a magic spell of darkness. It looks cool.

[It's Overpowered.]

I know. That is why it's cool.

[Hah~ it took 1.5% of your mana just to inform you. That much is 8 times the mana possessed by The 'Hero']

That much?! And why 1.5%?! Can't it consume more?! Is my mana too much?!

[Probably. There aren't even spells that can consume more than 50% of your mana.]

Really?! God! I'm a monster!

[You are a Divine Beast.]

Fuh~

"What's wrong Velkra?" Asks Carmine.

"Nothing. I was just talking to Twixie about how big of a monster I am." I say.

"What?"

"Nevermind," I say.

We gotta get to the Castle. But…

"How do we get to the castle?" I say.

"Going through this lava is… a bit impossible isn't it?" says Felia.

"It sure is. For you guys that is. I can just do this and walk there. Yay!" I say that as I jump into the boiling lava nearby.

It wasn't deep, just up to my feet. Honestly, I'm still surprised that I can't feel anything burning. I had the resistance in my baby form but I think it's stronger now. It's like I'm standing in a warm bath.

"Velkra! Are you alright?!" Shouts Felia.

This girl. She's ready to jump in to save me? Hah~

"I'm fine~ look!" I say as I pick up the lava in my palms.

"You want me to splash it to you guys?" I say.

"Please. We are not indestructible you know?" Says Carmine.

And more than that, I'm surprised by these clothes. They took in my mana and now they are this resistant to heat? Hmm…

[Your mana is very potent.]

Is that so?

[Yup]

[ATTENTION!]

[NEW SKILL ACCQUIRED]: [COMBINATION]

Another one?! Now what?!

[God…~]

What is with me?! Why do I keep getting skills outta nowhere?!

[The acquisition of skills depends on the strength of one's soul… You could say that yours is much more strong than others…(Sigh)]

Hey, what was that exasperated sigh?! It's not my fault you know!

[Anyway… This skill allows you to combine magic and skills… With ease that is… What a monster…]

Hey! Why did you say that?!

[You said it too…]

Hmmph!

"Now get out of there." Says Carmine.

"Yeah. Now to think how to get there…" I say.

They obviously can't go there on foot.

"Um… Velkra? Can I ride you?" Says Felia out of nowhere.

What?

"What the hell are you saying Felia?!" Shouts Carmine, blushing and moving her hands frantically.

Those are some bold words… and The first time I've seen Carmine blushing.

"No no! I meant we could ride on top of Velkra in her dragon form!" says Felia, With a steamy head and twitchy ears and tail.

"Say it clearly!" Says Carmine.

So that's what she meant?

"That's a good idea. But how will you guys sit up there?" I ask.

"I have some ropes in my special storage. We can use that to anchor on your scales." Says Carmine.

She had a special storage?

"I'm gonna transform then. I'll step in the lava and then you guys can climb from my tail." I say.

"Yes." Says Felia.

I turn around in the direction of the castle and jump down into the lava. There I walk far, To the point where the lava came up to my waist.

"Are you okay!" Shouts Felia from afar.

"Yeah!" I reply.

Now for the transformation. Here we go! [Transformation]!

Just as I activate my skill, my body glows in many beautiful and bright colors and I slowly get bigger and bigger. Why slowly? Because we are in no hurry. I wonder if the barrier on the other side is still intact.

I transform and point my tail where they are standing. They climb on it and begin to move to the top.

"Hot! Hot!" says Carmine as she climbs.

Felia is climbing in silence. It's probably the effect of the earlier embarrassment.

Once they get to the top, Carmine ties a rope from one of my scales.

"We are ready!" says Carmine.

"Then hold on!"

"[Whoosh]!"

I take off with a thrust.

"AHHHHHHHHH! BWEGH!"

I can hear Carmine throwing up.

"OI! DON'T YOU DARE THROW UP ON ME!" I say.

"YAYYYY!" I can hear Felia having fun.

"SHUT UP! YOUR VOICE IS WEIRD IN YOUR DRAGON FORM!" says Carmine.

Really?!

"GO SLOWER!" she says.

"THIS IS THE DEFAULT SPEED IN MY DRAGON FORM, SO NO!" I reply.

"DAMN YOU VELKRAAA!"

A moment passes by and we get closer to the castle. It's all black with most of its towers partially crumbled. The walls are cracked and the main gate is on the verge of breaking too.

"Is anyone even there?" I say to myself.

We arrive in the front of the castle and I land down on the ground with caution.

Now that I look around… there aren't any soldiers here. Are they all in the Human Realm?

"Get down guys," I say.

They climb down from my back along with the rope they had tied earlier.

"Velkra… I want to tell you something…" says Felia as she gets close to my face.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Your Dragon Form is magnificent." She says.

Really? She gonna make me blush.

"I-Is that so?" I say.

"Believe me. I haven't seen anyone more beautiful than you in my life." She says.

"T-Thanks."

"You guys done?" says Carmine.

"Yes." Replies Felia in a bashful manner.

Why does she even say things like that when she can't handle it? Look. She's about to faint from the pressure.

[Transformation]

I transform back into my humanoid form and go towards where Felia and Carmine are standing.

"The gate is slightly open that we can go through." Says Carmine.

I can sense only one person in there. The person in there is relatively strong. About as strong as these girls here or greater than them. The other life signs I am sensing are inside the castle but somewhere down in there. Probably a place beneath the castle. They number about 2,000. The area beneath the castle is large. It's probably a shelter.

[There. Carmine and Felia's stats.]

[STATUS MENU]

[Name: [Felia Damirus] [Age: [18 Years 6 Months]

[Blessing]: [Celestial Elder Dragon Velkra]

[Race]: [Dragon Kin Beastwoman]

[Level]: [70]

[HP: 50,000]

[SP: 70,000]

[MP: 55,000]

[STATUS MENU]

[Name: [Carmine De Weskin] [Age: [18 Years 1 Month]

[Blessing]: [Celestial Elder Dragon Velkra]

[Race]: [Dragon Kin Human]

[Level]: [69]

[HP: 49,000]

[SP: 56,000]

[MP: 80,000]

They are that strong?

[Yup]

"Shall we go in?" asks Felia.

The person inside could be the Demon Lord. The chances are high that the whole Demon Army with every single soldier is out there. That makes the demon lord alone in the castle. Would she even do something like that?

"Let's go," I say.

We step towards the gate and go inside.

We walk and observe that the castle is indeed about to crumble. We didn't see any houses here so that proves the point that the demons are living in a shelter. The demon realm's condition is so bad that they decided to take shelter in the castle? How desperate are they? No wonder they are doing this as their last hope of survival.

The black walls pass by and we arrive in a hall. A throne stretches above, along with stairs to reach it. we walk towards it. the carpet on the floor is now gone and only the bare floor remains. the curtains are torn, probably due to lack of cloth. the throne is shrouded in darkness. It's not clear but someone seems to be sitting over there. We get closer and upon seeing what we saw, we are left speechless.

"Who dares to enter the castle uninvited?" comes a child's girly voice.

"This is insane...." says Carmine.

"Velkra...." Says Felia.

What the hell…?