“We’ll Definitely Come Back to Save You!” — It’s Been Three Years Since I Was Left in the Most Difficult Dungeon, Isn’t It About Time for Help to Arrive...? - 48-49

Chapter 48: The Black Dragon’s Descension

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It had been a while since the forest was engulfed in an unprecedented wildfire. After running around all over the place trying to contain the spreading flames, I was completely exhausted, and found myself absentmindedly staring up at the sky, where the stars had begun to peek out as night fell.

“…Where should I sleep tonight?”

I had fully expected to return to the city, so I hadn’t prepared for sleeping outdoors at all. Naturally, my gear was the same as when I’d left Niflheim. In fact, my weapons had been battered so badly they were in even worse condition than before.

Apparently, Midi had gotten so fixated on chasing after me that she ran off with little more than the clothes on her back. Since we had no idea when we’d be able to return to town, we needed to find a place—out of sight and safe—where we could rest.

“…Haah. It can’t be helped. Let’s head back and rethink our next steps.”

“Back…? To where…?”

Midi looked at me with a blank expression.

“To where…? Obviously, Niflheim. We can at least take shelter from the wind and rain there. And if we ask those guys for help, they might even help us gather food—”

Just as I started walking, Midi grabbed my arm in desperation.

“No…! We can’t go back to a place like that again…! You just came back to us, and if something happened to take you away again, Athos, I…”

As tears welled up in Midi’s eyes, I gently patted her head.

“…It’s okay. Don’t worry. Right now, I’m apparently considered the ‘boss’ over there. Isn’t that right—Hel?”

“Indeed. Master has finally begun to show some awareness of his role as a boss monster. I’m glad.”

“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you, idiot?! I’m not a dungeon boss, or a monster, or a Demon Lord! And once this whole thing is over, I swear I’m going to cancel that familiar contract, give back that power, and work you into the ground! So be ready!”

“Oh my, how terrifying, Demon Lord-sama~.”

WHACK!

I gave Hel, who was hiding a smirk behind her hand and acting all cheeky, a well-deserved smack, then looked around again. That said, since we’d just been roughly retracing the route we took when we left the city, I wasn’t exactly sure if we were even heading toward Niflheim.

“Now then, how do we actually get back to Niflheim from here…? Considering how badly we messed up on the way here, I’d really like to avoid wandering around aimlessly again…”

“Sounds like you’re in trouble!”

A woman’s voice suddenly echoed from somewhere. I looked around, trying to find the source, but before I had time to react, something sliced through the wind and came straight at us at breakneck speed.

BOOOOOM!!!

“Gah—! Cough! Cough! What the hell…!?”

A violent impact shook the scorched earth, kicking up clouds of ash and dust high into the air. My lungs screamed in protest as they filled with all kinds of debris. As the dust began to settle, a silhouette slowly emerged.

Wings like obsidian spread wide to either side. Razor-sharp claws. Bluish-purple hair swaying in the night breeze, and two horns sprouting from her head. Finally, her golden eyes ringed in crimson turned toward us, and the girl gave a smug grin as if to say her arrival was only natural.

“Okay! Just like you said, I’m back in this form! So now you’re taking me with you, right!?”

Her snake-like eyes locked directly onto me—but—

“…Who are you?”

Faced with this overly familiar stranger I had absolutely no recollection of, I could only blurt out my confusion.

“…Eh—?”

“You guys know her?”

“I don’t… Hel?”

“…Beats me. I don’t recall anyone looking like that.”

“Eh… Eh… Eh…?”

Everyone present clearly stated they didn’t know her, and the light in the dazzling girl’s face began to fade.

“Well then, seeing as no one here knows you—”

“Wait! Hold on! You’ve gotta be kidding me! I went through all the trouble of hunting down weaklings to gather magic power, rebuilt my body from scratch, and now this!? Come on, that’s just cruel! Right!?”

As Hel’s face clearly showed her complete disinterest in dealing with this any further, the girl finally broke down and began pleading with teary eyes.

“Seriously, though, I have no idea who you are… Who are you, really?”

“Wha—!? …Fine! If that’s how it is, I’ll just make you remember through pain! Take this!”

CHOMP!

“Ow, ow, ow—!?”

For some reason, the girl suddenly bit down on my head. I tried to shake her off, but she was way stronger than she looked, and I couldn’t pry her off. And this pain… I felt like I’d experienced it somewhere before…

“Ugh… You’re annoying. Just go back to the mid-levels where you came from. We don’t need more troublesome weirdos tagging along.”

“I told you, I’m not a weirdo—wait, you do remember me, don’t you!? You totally know who I am, don’t you!?”

“Ow, ow, ow!! Why me!?”

And so, my head—still clamped in her jaw—was soon drenched in blood like a freshly painted wall.

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Chapter 49: My Toy

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“What!? You’re that Black Dragon, Blightwyrm!?”

“I’ve been telling you that from the start, haven’t I!? How many times do I have to say it!?”

If she kept biting me like that, I was going to bleed out and die, so I finally pried her off and asked what was going on—only to be completely floored by the shocking truth of the girl’s identity.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted. Seriously, don’t make me waste my energy on pointless stuff like that.”

Using the wings on her back with surprising dexterity, the Black Dragon,  Blightwyrm,  fanned herself to dry the sweat on her brow.

You’re the one who chomped on me first…

Swallowing that retort, I faced her again.

“…So, what’s the reason you went through all the trouble of taking on that form to come here?”

“Obviously! To follow Athos, of course!”

“I knew it.”

I did say it this morning, after all—“If you could at least take on human form like Hel, then I’d consider it.” I meant it too. If she really could manage that, I figured I might as well bring her along. But I never expected she’d actually go through with it in less than a day…

“Master, why… Why must you always say unnecessary things? Thanks to you, we’ve got another unnecessary addition. If you’d just told her ‘don’t follow me’ back then, we wouldn’t be dealing with this loudmouthed idiot dragon right now…”

“And you tried to sneak off on your own! You’ve got some nerve talking like that… You reclusive, bitter little shut-in! Unlike you, I wasn’t acting on some selfish impulse. I just figured the outside world would be better than that cramped little dungeon!”

“Then why not just keep wandering around on your own like you always do? Why bother coming to Master’s side at all?”

“W-Well… That’s, um… I was just thinking why not, you know? ‘I’ve never been to a human city before, so maybe Athos could show me around~’ or something like that!”

“Is that so…? I can’t verify anything since I’ve given my power to Master, but you sound pretty suspicious.”

“Wha!? N-No I don’t smell suspicious at all—wait, huh? You gave him your power? And you’ve been calling Athos ‘Master’ this whole time…?”

“Oh, you noticed? Yeah, the thing is, I’m not your boss anymore. Athos-sama is our new boss now. I’m the first and only—his one and only—familiar. In terms of ranking, it’s Master > me > all you nobodies.”

“Whaaaat!? Nobody told me about this! Athos, what’s going on!?”

CHOMP!

“Ow, ow, ow!! Stop biting me already!!”

I tore the Black Dragon, Blightwyrm, off my head again and, resigned, gave her a brief rundown of the situation.

“—So yeah, that’s the deal. Until I turn my companion back to normal and clear up this whole misunderstanding where people think I’m some kind of Demon Lord, I can’t even get near the city, let alone show you around.”

“Hmm…Sounds like things are more complicated than I thought.”

“Exactly. Which is why I don’t have time to waste on you. So if you understand, just go ba—”

“—Then let me help you!”

“Huh?” 

“What!?” 

“Wha…?”

Her sudden offer left me, Hel, and even Midi—who had been silently watching—completely stunned.

“What do you think, Athos? If I’m with you, I can carry you around freely, help search for your companion from the sky, and obviously, I’d be a reliable force in a fight. Such a capable dragon is yours with just one little contract—!”

“No way, no way, absolutely not, Master! A contract with anyone else is totally out of the question!”

Hel rushed up, flailing, and shook my shoulders furiously to cut off the offer.

“W-Whether it’s allowed or not… Making any more contracts right now seems like a bad idea…”

Thinking through the chaos in my head, I realized that if I started forming contracts left and right, there really would be no turning back for me.

“Hmm… So she’s okay, but I’m not? Even though I went out of my way to fly you all the way to the city earlier…”

“Y-Yeah, well, that’s true, but…”

Her sulky tone pierced me with guilt.

“That’s right! Athos, you want to go back to Niflheim, don’t you? I happen to know the way. What should I do~? Maybe I’ll just go on ahead and leave you all here~?”

“Wha—!?”

“I wonder if you directionally-challenged folks will be able to make it back in one piece~? I did see some shady humans earlier, too. Maybe they’re after the Demon Lord’s head~?”

“Grr… Damn it…”

Blightwyrm’s perfectly targeted comments stirred my worries and tightened the pressure around my chest.

“If you’re going to search on foot while dodging pursuers, I wonder how many months it’ll take to get there? Maybe you’ll just wander the forest lost forever—”

“…Fine. You’re in.”

“Maaasteeer!!?”

My will finally broke. Shoulders slumping, I reluctantly extended my hand to her. With no map, no leads, and bounty hunters who’d chase me to the ends of the world, I couldn’t risk stumbling around the forest on my own. Even if I could technically stay alive, I really didn’t want to go through that if I could help it…

The grinning Black Dragon, Blightwyrm, and I pressed our palms together. A black-purple crest appeared on her hand, and new magical energy flowed into mine.

“So, I’m officially your familiar now. But don’t worry, I’m not really into the whole ‘master-servant’ dynamic.”

She gently placed the hand with the crest under my chin and tilted it up.

“As long as you keep being my playmate, that’s all I need. I’m looking forward to it—my darling little partner(toy)~♡.”

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