Chapter 469 Ignir’s Mission

Outside Forgehold Fortress,

at a secluded spot.

"Why do we have to sneak around in a place like this?"

Ignir asked, his voice filled with confusion.

"Shh, quiet. This is a crucial mission—the fewer people who know about it, the better!" Hulim Heyerar said, her expression stern.

"O-Okay?"

Hearing that, Ignir tensed up involuntarily, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"What exactly is this mission? Also......"

Ignir rolled his eyes upward, glancing at the top of his head.

"Lady Irus, what are you gonna do with that awl—YEEEEOWCH!"

Ignir let out a shrill howl, leaping clear off the ground with all four paws flailing.

"There we go, all done!"

Irus clapped her hands and jumped down from Ignir’s head.

Ignir raised a claw to scratch at an unassuming protrusion embedded in the scales on his crown.

"What the heck is this thing?"

"You’ll find out soon enough. It’s a shape-shifting trinket."

"Shape-shifting???!"

Ignir stared blankly.

What did she mean by that?

Before he could wrap his head around it,

a cold tingle suddenly spread across the top of his head, quickly washing over his entire body.

"Whoa~! That’s awesome!"

"It actually worked!"

The others exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? Huh?? What changed? What’s different?"

Listening to their cries of amazement, Ignir grew even more confused.

"Just look for yourself."

Hulim held out her hand, and her Seven Luminaries Wand flew into her grasp. She drove it firmly into the ground.

SWISH——!

A vast, mirror-smooth sheet of ice spread out across the earth.

Ignir lowered his head to look—and froze, dumbfounded.

"Who the hell is that——??!"

Gazing back at him from the ice was no longer the bright red fire dragon he’d always been. In his place stood a pitch-black fiend dragon, wreathed in an ominous aura that oozed evil from every scale.

Anyone who saw him would take him for the most vile, wicked creature in existence.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"That’s you."

Hulim explained from the side.

"We’ve only used a special magical artifact to alter your outward appearance. Don’t worry, nothing about your inner self has changed, and you can turn back just by removing the trinket."

"O-Oh, that’s a relief."

Ignir let out a big breath.

"I thought I’d fallen to darkness for a second......"

"So why go through the trouble of turning me into this?"

"Well, there’s something we need to ask you to do......"

Hulim began to explain the plan to Ignir in detail.

On the other side of the clearing,

"Hey, Irus......"

Laki sidled up to Irus, her voice low.

"What’s up~, little Laki?" Irus asked, grinning mischievously.

"Don’t call me little Laki——!" Laki snapped.

"Aww, why not? You used to love it when I called you that," Irus muttered, feigning reluctance.

"Because......" Laki’s eyes darted about, her cheeks flushing slightly as she mumbled, "It’s embarrassing! If my great-granddaughter hears you call me that......"

"Aww~."

Irus’s eyes lit up with delight.

She threw her arms around Laki in a tight hug, nuzzling her cheek.

"You’re so cute, little Laki. You haven’t changed one bit since we were kids."

"Let go of me!"

Laki wrenched herself free of Irus’s grasp, huffing with anger.

"Honestly! You’re still as frivolous as ever! You’re bringing shame to the title of Saint of the World Tree!"

"Why did I ever become friends with a troublemaker like you......"

"Hehe~!"

"Hehe my foot!"

"Fine! You’re such a nuisance! I’m not gonna ask you anything anymore."

Laki turned her head away, making it clear she didn’t want to look at Irus another second.

"Aww, don’t be like that. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know~."

"......"

"Pleeeease~?"

"......"

"Hey, litt——La——"

"Alright, alright! I get it! Just stop calling me that!"

"Ahem!"

Laki cleared her throat, composing herself.

"What I actually wanted to ask is about that magical artifact...... Where on earth did you get such a fishy trinket—one you just drive straight into someone’s body like that?"

"Hmm~?"

Irus tilted her head, wearing a look of pure innocence.

She waved a hand dismissively. "Oh no, you’ve got it all wrong. This magical artifact is just an ornament! It works just by being worn—you’d never drive it into someone’s body. That’d be far too dangerous."

"Huh......?"

Laki stared at her, dumbfounded.

She glanced at the "nail" embedded in Ignir’s head, then back at Irus—who had a perfectly straight face.

An ornament......???

"Hey, Irus......"

"What~?"

"Are you a demon?"

"Aww, that’s mean~! How could you say that, little Laki?"

"Then how do you act so nonchalant about driving an ‘ornament’ into someone’s skull?!"

"I had no choice! Ignir doesn’t have a single spot on his body where you can wear an ornament!"

"......At the very least, you could have explained it to him first."

"Ah——" Irus’s expression froze. A moment later, she stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "Oops, I forgot~!"

This woman......

She did that on purpose, no doubt about it!

"Ugh, you’re impossible......"

Laki sighed, utterly defeated.

"Speaking of which."

"You still have an absurd amount of treasure, don’t you? I thought I might have caught up to you a little this time, but it looks like you’ve got plenty more of these weird trinkets stashed away, don’t you?"

Irus smiled softly.

She neither confirmed nor denied it.

"Want one, little Laki? I’ll give you anything you want, big sister’s treat~!"

"......"

"Don’t call me little Laki, you foolish elf——!!!"

......

Late at night.

At the dwarven camp on the wasteland.

Hulim and the others arrived quietly, slipping into the perimeter.

"Charkin, what’s the situation?"

Irus asked.

"Everything is still under control. They’ve tried sending monsters to break through by air and underground, but we’ve blocked them at every turn," Charkin replied.

"They’re camped out ahead, and they haven’t attempted another breakout in a long while. Not sure if they’ve given up, or if they’re plotting something else."

Irus gazed toward the glow of Gulos’s campfires in the distance, her eyes thoughtful.

"Whatever they’re plotting, it doesn’t matter—as long as the Hero Hena is with them."

"Oh?" Charkin raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You’ve found a way?"

"We have. Thanks to Laki, we’ve got a plan. Now all we have to do is wait for them to walk right into our trap."

"But we can’t let our guard down. Now more than ever, we can’t give them a single chance to escape."

"I understand. I’ll increase the number of scouts keeping watch on their camp."

......

The night wore on, minute by minute.

Hulim sat atop a hill outside the camp, bathed in starlight, practicing her magic.

Zzz, zzz......

A flicker of red light danced between her fingers.

CRACK——!

A large stone before her vanished into thin air as if erased from existence—yet the ground beneath the stone vanished with it, leaving a jagged hole in the earth.

"Still not good enough......"

Hulim said, letting out a helpless sigh.