In the bright red heat, Lois slowly opened her eyes. His watchful eye had responded to his presence detector.
...... Is this the Dragon King and the King of Agartha?
Indeed, there was no doubt. They were slowly climbing up the mountainside where Lois was hiding, on foot.
"...... you thought of that."
Royce muttered to himself in the space he had created. If the Dragon King and Linos had wanted to, it would have been easy enough for them to move without being detected by Royce. However, they dared not to do so, and they were making it so that they would be caught by the presence detection. Why would they make such a foolish move when it was obvious that they could escape if their approach was detected? Royce used his clear mind to think and came up with the answer.
......Their actions, though seemingly lame at first glance, are well thought out and well hidden behind the scenes. This is all done to protect the daughter who controls the Dragon King.
Royce mutters this in his mind. Then, he focused his presence and magic detection on the two. At that moment, something flashed through his mind.
"...... are you trying to focus my consciousness?"
Royce let out a grin as he muttered this. Then, he cuts off the detection that had been focused on the two men, and activates the detection in a completely different direction from them.
The Dragon King and Linos are trying to get the girl somewhere far away from them by focusing their attention on the two of them. .......
This thought raises the question, where on earth are they trying to hide the girl? The Dragon King and Linos, where they are trying to escape even if it is a fool's errand. ....... With a little excitement, he tries to detect the location around the house of Rinos. Then, a few hundred kilometers south down from the house, he felt something strange.
"...... Is this Rwazan Island? Lace Volcano?"
It turned out to be the island where Lois had originally lived with her siblings. When Lois learned this fact, she almost blew up. He could never have guessed where he was going to be, even with his own brain.
"I never thought you'd run away to my original home. ......"
Still smiling his lowly smile, he tries to figure out what's wrong with him. It seems to be coming from the crater of the volcano. When he concentrates his attention there, he feels a strange power, different from magic, gathering there.
"Is this ...... a spirit? Is it ...... Siljus?"
Lois remembered the psyllus she had eaten not long before. As he recalled, this race could control spirits. If so, the fire spirits gathering at the Lace Volcano on the island of Rwazan would be .......
"That's a good idea."
Unintentionally, Royce mutters to himself. This would be difficult to find, even if one had considerable skill. But there was one thing he had missed. The temperature was abnormally high in that area.
For a moment, I thought that a new crater might have formed, but it seemed unlikely. More than that, along with the high temperature, I felt a weak magic power. This is what is causing the discomfort.
"It's probably a hastily made one," he said. It's well thought out for that, but ...... it's a shame."
Grinning, Royce mutters. And at the same time, he was sure he could eat her up.
Whenever Royce thinks of this girl, he gets an indescribable feeling of foreboding that sticks with him and won't let go. Eating the little she-cat ...... girl would not help his stomach, nor would it improve his skills in any way. But I thought that by eating her, I could get rid of this indescribable feeling of discomfort.
Ever since I knew about the girl, my intuition had been telling me that she was dangerous. It was the same feeling I had when I first confronted the Dragon King. At all costs, this little girl must be eliminated. Siljus, who felt the same threat, was able to eat her. But he failed to eat her. Since then, the girl had never left his mind.
Let's go eat the girl who controls the Dragon King: ....... The question was when to leave this space.
We will attract ...... just in time.
Once again, Royce focused his attention on the Dragon King and Linos. When they are close to him and attack him, he uses the space to transfer to the girl. Then he attacks with lightning speed.
The plan is set.
Lois concentrates more on detecting presence and magic. They have been slowly climbing up the mountain, and there is still some time before they reach here.
"But how did you find this place?"
Royce had absolute confidence in his space. Even the Dragon King could not have found out the location of this place. But they were actually coming toward this place. Why in the world?
...... if they have detected my magic?
The thought suddenly crosses my mind. At this moment, Royce remembered the words of his brother Tsune.
"There is always someone better than you.
Many times I have stood up to my brother and each time he has brought me to my knees. He always said these words to me. The Dragon King and Rinos are his opponents. Their combined skills far surpass the power of Royce. With their power, there was no chance of finding them, no matter how confident they were in their spatial magic.
......And it's been a long time since I've used spatial magic.
It has been a few hundred years since I have built up a space with all my might. I believe it was when we fought the Dragon King. Moreover, the Dragon King saw the space that Royce had created. It is a spatial skill that he had not used for hundreds of years. Surely, his skill might be a bit down. Moreover, the opponent is the Dragon King ....... There is no way to say that the location of this space can be identified.
Anxiety arises in Lois's mind. Perhaps, no matter where he escapes to in this world, the Dragon Kings will come after him. And he may be defeated in the end. ....... When he thinks about this, he turns his head around and changes his mind.
......No, as long as I'm here, I'll be fine. The moment we attack this space, the mountain will explode. If that happens, even the Dragon King will not be safe. And ...... there is no one who can break through this space. Yes, even the Dragon King could not break through my space. No human can break it.
Thinking of this, Lois' mind gradually regained its composure. After a while, the Dragon King and Linos came to the crater.
They remained there for a while and then slowly entered the crater. This volcano has a double structure. We wondered if they would notice this, but they stopped their movement where the first magma pool was located.
They remained where they were for a while, and then began to slowly descend again, approaching the area where Lois was. They arrived just above the magma reservoir where Lois was hiding.
......The two men stared intently at the magma pool. Lois could read their expressions. Both the Dragon King and Linos had complicated expressions of surprise and despair.
An indescribable sense of satisfaction and superiority welled up in Royce's heart. He had defeated the Dragon King and Agartha Linos. He had won.
Suppressing the urge to scream out loud, he concentrated all the magical energy in his body. .......