Chapter 83
Smoke was rising from the charred body of the Fire Dragon.
I gripped a blackened scale with my hand, then pulled it away with a suppressed groan.
Setting aside the pain from the searing heat, the dragon’s body was still so sturdy that there was nothing I could do with my own strength.
"Lieutenant Colonel! Captains!"
I looked back.
"Please help me! We have to cut open the belly. The twins were eaten earlier..!"
My vision was blurred because blood was streaming from my eyes.
I couldn’t tell what kind of expressions they were wearing as they looked at me.
I could only tell that they were approaching.
"Move aside."
Mo Hae-in grabbed my shoulder, pushed me away, and placed one foot on the Fire Dragon’s belly.
Then, she plunged the Black Moon Blade into the lower abdomen where I had peeled away the scales and ripped open the gap.
The dragon’s skin split open.
However, the body was so massive that even if I crawled inside, it seemed it would take a long time to find the twins.
How could I rescue them faster?
Just as I was desperately thinking, trying to widen the gap further-
A hand reached out from inside the belly.
It wasn’t a child’s hand, but an adult’s.
A strange hand I had never seen before.
Yet, I grabbed the hand extended toward me.
It was an instinctive action.
The moment our skin touched, a surprisingly intense heat was transmitted.
I felt a sense of relief at a body temperature that was not human.
I gripped the hand and put strength into my legs. Shifting my weight backward, I pulled hard.
A person drenched in sticky fluid revealed their upper body.
A man with long, flame-red hair looked at me.
Meeting those red eyes, I momentarily thought of Infernum.
But it was completely different.
In those red eyes, framed by downturned lids, there was no appetite for me.
And on his face....
After staring at me for a moment, the man finally pulled himself completely outside.
Tattered scraps of clothing barely covered his body, but he did not bother to adjust them.
Instead, he immediately reached back into the gap and pulled something out.
Following him, a woman with similarly long red hair poked her face out from the belly.
With the man’s help, she emerged completely.
Then, they suddenly lunged at me.
"Ugh..!"
They hugged me tightly from both sides, using even their wings to completely envelop me.
The Fire Dragon twins, now grown into adults, looked down at me.
I was a bit flustered that they had grown to be well over 2 meters tall.
"Little Lamb!"
Ella shouted loudly.
"You, you..! You are stupid and foolish! You idiot!"
Elun murmured, rubbing his face against mine.
"Why are you such a mess.... You’re hurt so much...."
Only then did I check my own appearance.
I was certainly filthy. It seemed to be a combination of frostbite and burns, plus the blood-tears I had shed at the end.
It didn’t hurt that much.
The twins, who must have been slowly melting inside the Fire Dragon’s belly, would have been in more pain and terror than I was.
Just as the Fire Dragon had been burned by the thermal explosion from the Ice Dragon’s horn, burn scars remained on their faces and across their entire bodies.
However, the scars that seemed to connect the twins together resembled the shape of flames.
I smiled slightly and spoke.
"Lady Ella, Lord Elun. You’ve become adults. I almost didn’t recognize you."
"We simply extinguished the flames of Infernum,"
Ella replied primly, though she stepped back slightly so I could see her transformation.
Elun also followed Ella’s lead, gently releasing his tight grip on me and stepping back.
It wasn’t just their bodies that had grown.
Their horns had become larger and harder, and their wings and tails had grown as well.
Elun’s injured wing had also healed completely, taking on a new form.
I particularly liked the horns that had sprouted anew atop their heads like crowns.
They were crown-shaped horns, far more magnificent and elegant than the horns that had appeared on Infernum’s head during his berserk state.
Despite playing Slay to Plate so many times, the twins had never grown into adults.
Even in the True Ending, when Infernum was driven out and the twins became the masters of the dungeon, they remained in the form of children.
But now, they have become dignited adults.
They were Fire Dragons who perfectly suited the title of Monarch.
I praised them with all my heart.
"You’ve become even more wonderful."
In my heart, I wanted to praise them with more grand expressions, but that was all I could think of.
As I lamented my lack of eloquence, Elun asked.
"Why did you come to save us? It was dangerous."
I looked around.
Before I knew it, everything had vanished. Only the twins, the Fire Dragon’s massive corpse, and I remained.
It was a sign that the ending was near.
Only when faced with parting did I answer honestly.
"Because...I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time."
Even though I had finished the game by seeing the happy True Ending, the Bad Endings where I couldn’t save them kept haunting me.
Knowing that a player cannot change the predetermined endings of a game, I had still searched every corner for a possibility.
I felt as though I had finally encountered a proper True Ending.
Ella and Elun gazed at me blankly.
Reptilian eyes with slit pupils stared at me without a single blink.
The twins reached toward their own heads.
Watching without much thought, I screamed in horror at their next action.
"Lady Ella! Lord Elun!"
Crack.
The twins each broke off one of their horns.
Then, they pulled my hand toward them and dropped their horns into it.
The two horns resting in my palm were engulfed in flames and transformed into large red gems.
Watching the scene helplessly while my hand was held, I checked the item.
[Red Horn of the Fire Dragon: A horn broken by a Fire Dragon for someone precious. It has transformed into a beautiful gem, receiving the will of the Fire Dragon. Looking at it for a long time evokes a faint sense of longing.]
I was speechless. I couldn’t bring myself to say a word.
Looking at the gems that resembled the twin flames, I snapped my head up.
Fearing that I might part with them this time without even saying goodbye.
Fortunately, the twins were still there.
Ella and Elun asked, looking puzzled.
"What is it? Your face is pale."
"Ah... It’s nothing."
I smiled softly and said.
"Thank you for the gift. I will cherish them."
The twins looked satisfied and let go of my hand.
Ella and Elun spoke excitedly about various things.
*Listen, Little Lamb. We are now the Monarchs of the Fire Dragons. We can do whatever we wish."
"We can visit the Little Lamb’s restaurant whenever we want."
"Yes! I won’t even take rent for the restaurant from you, Little Lamb. Run the shop as you please. No, I should just make it your property entirely."
They listed the things they would do and wanted to do as the Monarchs of the Fire Dragons.
I listened to the twins’ stories while clutching the gems in my hand.
Then, it occurred to me that I should give the twins the remaining dishes in my inventory as a gift.
There should be some Phoenix Meringue Cookies left.
Since Ella and Elun loved them, if I gave them as a gift....
As I tried to open my inventory, a hollow laugh escaped me.
The only thing left before my eyes was the system window.
[ Cleared!]
- Ending: Immortal Flame.
The ending....
My shoulders slumped unconsciously.
The heat transmitted from the gems remaining in my palm made my heart feel even emptier.
Still, it was more bearable than before.
Because this time, I had properly said thank you.
[Han Goyo’ makes their name known in Akasha!]
[■■ is enthusiastic! As your most ardent fan, they are watching you.]
I carefully read the message from Mr. Black Block.
Seeing the mention of being a ’fan’, it was definitely him, the alien guest.
And the recognition....
[Current Recognition: 1%]
I checked the recognition, doubting my eyes.
It had gone up by 0.8%.
I thought it had gone up a lot after clearing Call of the void last time.
Seeing it break past the decimal point to reach 1% was unbelievable.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but it seemed that dealing with the Fire Dragon had influenced the rise in recognition.
[The Trial < Slay to Plate> has ended.]
[The Trial will be permanently closed in 80 seconds.]
[You are the maximum contributor of .]
[You may take 2’ items.]
Thinking the number was stingy compared to the hardship, I still diligently chose my items.
One was, naturally, the Red Horn of the Fire Dragon that had turned into a gem, and after some deliberation, I chose the Phoenix Meringue Cookies as the other.
Since they were health recovery items, they would be useful in many ways.
Item selection complete.
Just as I finished the selection and was waiting for the trial to end.
A low laugh was heard.
The moment I heard that laugh, composed of a magnificent bass.
I remembered a fact I had completely forgotten.
[Trial ended? ended? end-end-ended ended not yet not yet no not yet not ended stop open open open open again]
[The Trial will be permanently closed in ????????? seconds. closed. closed. closed. clo-clo-closed At the moment He desires!]
A universe full of stars unfolded before my eyes
"...?"
I blinked.
After blinking blankly, I felt a sense of awkwardness and checked the clothes I was wearing.
A luxurious-looking suit came into view. It was a suit I would have had no occasion to wear in Slay to Plate.
’Where did my chef’s uniform go?’
As I smoothed out the suit tailored perfectly to my build, I looked up to the side.
"It suits you well, Roasted Chestnut."
A 3-meter-tall man, likewise wearing a perfect suit, looked down at me and complimented me.
The moment I saw those blue eyes....
"Are you surprised to see this appearance after so long?"
A large hand lightly touched my back.
All unnecessary emotions and thoughts melted away.
My body, which had been trembling as if seized by a chill, calmed down instantly.
Dominic smiled at me.
"You really do love small things."
I felt a tender warmth from his touch. His low voice reassured me further.
"It’s alright. You’ll get used to it soon."
He was right. I truly felt fine.
With a peaceful heart, I followed Dominic’s lead.
The place we visited together was, surprisingly, my restaurant.
It was definitely the restaurant I had worked so hard to run in Slay to Plate, but the exterior had changed significantly.
Unlike the time when I had crammed in expensive decorations to raise the reputation score, it now had a more restrained feel.
The exterior, which gave an impression of being both elegant and splendid, reflected the refined taste of its owner.
Owner?
But the owner of the restaurant...
I had killed the Fire Dragon Infernum.
And so, the twins had become the new owners.
The moment I questioned this, something massive placed behind the restaurant building caught my eye.
Smoke was rising from it, which was pitch-black as if burned by flames, and it looked like a small mountain, far larger than the restaurant.
However, it had lost its original shape and was torn to shreds.
As if someone had ripped it apart like a toy.
Looking at the miserably fragmented thing, a strange thought occurred to me.
As if that thing was.
"Since I prepared this in haste, it is lacking in many ways. I should have cleared it away beforehand."
As Dominic gestured, the black hill was dyed in blue light.
It became colored like a galaxy full of stars, and then, in an instant, it vanished.
As if it had been sucked into a black hole.
"Still, you will like the food."
At Dominic’s words, I looked at the now-clean backyard.
What was originally there?
Even though I had just seen it, I couldn’t remember.
Just as I was struggling to recall, Dominic led me.
"Shall we go inside? I have prepared a delicious meal for you, Roasted Chestnut."
Seeing that it wouldn’t come to mind even this much, it didn’t seem to be a particularly important memory.
And right now, dinner with Dominic was the most important thing.
"Yes, Mr. Dominic."
I answered obediently and entered the restaurant with him.