The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 16

Chapter 16: The True Depths

Beyond the layers inscribed with the names “Tears Shed in Reunion” and “Valley of Painful Parting,” we arrived at the uppermost level known as the “Crater Where the Undying Cast Themselves.”

In the circular depression, there was a central volcano emitting intense heat and light. As we approached it, a dragon of considerable size, nearly 6 meters long, burst forth from the crater.

“It’s a Fire Drake! Be careful!” I warned.

“Yes, you too!” Aria responded.

We armed ourselves and split up. The Fire Drake spread its wings and prepared to breathe fire at Aria, so I threw a hand axe at its head. The hand axe hit its target, delaying the timing of the fiery breath. Seizing the opportunity, Aria used her body enhancement to accelerate and leaped, slashing one of the dragon’s wings.

“――――――Ha!”

The Fire Drake roared, scattering its breath while descending. I managed to dodge the flames and closed in on it. I transformed my small sword into a longsword and swung it.

Even though I managed to deeply cut its leg, the Fire Drake swung its tail at me, a massive blow that sent me flying effortlessly.

“Ugh…!” I grunted.

Rolling on the ground, I transformed my longsword into its original form. It seemed that I could change my weapons up to two at a time now.

While I was still recovering, Aria sliced off the Fire Drake’s tail from the middle and moved gracefully to avoid its sharp claws.

(I didn’t expect to be able to cut through the dragon’s scales and bones like this…)

The Fire Drake reversed itself and tried to strike Aria with its sharp claws, but she skillfully evaded the attacks and continued to strike back.

Impressed but keeping my focus, I prepared a bow and arrow I had been changing shape in the meantime. With the bowstring drawn, I fired a jet-black arrow infused with magic from the bow. It pierced the Fire Drake’s eye.

“――――――What!?”

As it howled in agony from the pain of its eye being pierced, Aria swung her longsword in a reverse grip, cutting off one of its arms. Then, with a swift motion, she beheaded the Fire Drake as it tried to recover.

I approached Aria, who was picking up the magic stones, and transformed my weapons back into their original forms. It seemed I could switch between two weapons at will now.

“Good job. I didn’t expect us to defeat the boss so easily,” I said.

“If we’re together, it’s not a big deal. But more importantly…”

We continued toward the central crater, leaving our conversation behind. Aria peeked into the crater but instinctively pulled back due to the overwhelming heat.

“I’m a bit scared when I think about going in again…”

“Do you want to turn back?”

She chuckled at my joking question and looked at me with determined eyes. It was a foolish question, and I laughed a little before turning back to face the crater.

“Then let’s go.”

I surrounded both Aria and myself with wind and jumped into the heart of the crater. Aria followed suit, and we descended into the crater.

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the fiery light beyond my eyelids, and the heat pierced my skin. However, neither our bodies nor our clothes caught fire. After a moment, I felt us breaking through the light and heat, so I opened my eyes and released the wind I had enveloped us in.

The wind slowed our descent, and we landed gently on the ground. Looking around, we found ourselves in a vast circular chamber. Lava flowed along the walls like a moat, and the walls were adorned with colorful gems and ores.

“Ahahaha, I never expected that someone would come this far,” a voice suddenly echoed.

We tensed up, and as we turned toward the source of the voice, we saw a room with a chair that resembled a throne, and flames were gradually forming into a figure on top of it.

“Nevertheless, welcome, my guests. It would be appropriate for you to introduce yourselves.”

The creature calling herself Ruskdite had a seductive female form. She possessed an extraordinary beauty with ample curves, a slender waist, and graceful legs that would attract people of all genders. However, her hair flickered like flames, and she had wings on her back, making it clear that she was not a human.

“I am Ruskdite. I commend you for finding your way down here, humans.” Ruskdite smiled alluringly and fixed her gaze upon us.