Chapter 213: Return to the Dungeon in the Sky with a Dragon in My Care
Ivis looked up at Ryan from below, keeping her bright eyes fixed upon the human’s inexpressive face. She smiled subtly, barely curving her lips with a gaze that reflected a certain hint of uncertainty.
It was quite rare to see a creature of her sheer level hesitating when interacting so closely with a man of another race.
She raised her arm and took Ryan’s hand firmly. The physical contact felt cold beneath his glove, and with a light upward push, she stood up right in front of him.
"You are an interesting human." Ivis said, evaluating his relaxed posture beneath the light of dawn. Then she immediately let go of his hand, breaking the grip with rapid swiftness.
She began to dust off her garments with both of her hands to remove the dirt and the grass from her clothes.
And then she added. "I sincerely hope that during this time we spend together we can get along well."
Ryan observed her in complete silence while she finished dusting the dirt off her sleeves.
"Spend together?" Ryan asked, arching an eyebrow, completely bewildered by her sudden statement.
At the very least, Ryan’s plan inside his head had been incredibly simple right up until that precise moment on the hill.
He had simply assumed that Ivis would only fly him all the way back to the hidden entrance of the dungeon in the sky.
While the morning wind fluttered over them with much more force, bringing with it the salty smell of the sea. Ivis raised a hand quickly, preventing the wind from covering her face with her very own locks of hair.
Holding her green hair neatly behind her ear, she responded to his doubt with complete naturalness.
"Of course." The woman assured him, lowering her hand from her face to look him straight in the eyes.
"Rigal’s demons are currently mobilizing; at any given moment they will attack the territory of Demon King Rohan."
"And we have no way to communicate with you over such a long distance. Therefore, I will remain entirely by your side until my Lady Ophelia gives the order." She added with a much more serious and formal tone.
Ryan looked at her carefully before responding, processing the sheer utility of having her so close to his party.
"I understand, you will maintain communication with Ophelia through telepathy. That way we will be able to stay alert to every new situation that presents itself." Ryan said while he began to stretch a little, rolling his shoulders beneath his heavy dark trench coat to relieve the tension of having slept on the bare ground.
Then he added, actively searching for possible flaws within Morrisen’s territorial defense.
"Yes, without a doubt that will be far more useful than having you teleport to the dungeon every single time. Besides, that way it will be much more precise for us to know exactly when to be ready. But is it really alright for Ophelia to have one of her dragons just leave the nation like this?"
Ryan asked, knowing perfectly well that losing an SS-rank soldier was a heavy blow for absolutely any army.
Ivis looked at him with sheer smugness in the face of his doubt regarding the military might of her home.
She planted herself much closer to him, shortening the distance with a firm step over the damp grass.
"Hey, do not underestimate our forces. You just worry about carrying out your own part of the plan, alright?" She added with a freezing, sharp smile.
Her pale face and the prominent horn on her forehead demonstrated the immense confidence she held in her very own race.
"Yes, yes. Alright." Ryan nodded his head, surrendering to her stubbornness and fully accepting the deal.
Then Ivis backed away a couple of meters from him and immediately adopted her dragon form.
Her body began to glow and expand all at once, completely obscuring the light of the sun that was barely rising.
Upon her transformation, the massive release of compressed mana exploded in all directions, creating a powerful shockwave.
The air and the wind shook in a violent manner, ripping the green grass right from its roots and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
The enormous, scaly beast rose imposingly over the hill, showing off her gigantic dark leather wings. From the top, Ryan saw how the people down in the village below began to step out of their small wooden houses.
The humans began to run desperately through the cobblestone streets, pushing and shoving one another in a total panic.
Because Ivis, in her full size, was completely visible to them against the clear dawn sky. Furthermore, her enormous power could be felt crushing the air across the entire coastal region.
"Your appearance managed to completely ruin those poor people’s breakfast." Ryan joked with a hint of sarcasm.
And he took a clean and highly precise leap, landing directly upon Ivis’s hard back and tightly clinging to her scales.
"Shut up." Ivis responded with a deep voice that echoed, making her entire massive body vibrate.
"Hold on tight because this time I plan to go at full speed." The beast warned, bending her powerful hind limbs.
Right when Ivis flapped her immense wings for the very first time, a voice echoed loudly directly behind them. He wasn’t that close, but it sounded incredibly firm and loaded with an immense sense of urgency.
"Ryan!"
He turned immediately toward the voice, twisting his neck to look back over his shoulder. Just like Ivis, who turned her large, scaly head to observe down the slope of the hill.
It was William.
The young hero was standing at a distance of at least twelve meters away from them.
He had appeared at the bottom part of the dirt path leading up the hill, running desperately in an attempt to reach them.
"What exactly are you trying to do!?" He asked, screaming at the top of his lungs in order to be heard over the violent roar of the wind.
William looked heavily agitated; it did not seem as though he had used his teleportation magic to follow the boy’s trail all the way up to the edges of the hill.
Ryan returned his gaze for only a single second, recording the expression of profound confusion upon the blonde’s face. But then he immediately turned back toward the front, giving the human hero his back without the slightest hint of remorse.
"Ivis, ignore him." Ryan ordered with total coldness, securely adjusting his grip upon the dragon’s back.
"Alright." Ivis responded with her bestial tone.
And in a powerful upward thrust, agitating the wind in an even more violent manner against the earth below. The dragoness began to fly straight toward the clouds, elevating herself toward the infinite morning sky.
And almost in the blink of an eye, she left the coastal province far behind at an absolutely overwhelming speed.
The solitary hero William was left far behind, standing right in the middle of the dust kicked up by her wings. Wearing a look of pure confusion and sheer surprise as he watched how Ryan flew away riding upon an SS-rank calamity.
