Chapter 259

The Visitor — Part 2

Upon arrival, Enne, Rir, and I crashed into the true throne room with enough force and speed to turn every head in our direction . As most of the other residents were yet unaware of the looming threat, they looked much more confused than they did panicked .

“Don’t go outside, no matter what!” I shouted . “Stay here and stay together!”

“D-did somethin’ happen, Master?” stuttered Lyuu, nervously .

“Something ridiculously strong is heading this way . ” I spoke as I fiddled with the dungeon’s UI and rapidly bought and placed as many traps as I possibly could . “Sorry Lefi, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to manage by myself this time . Can you help m—”

My request was interrupted . The dragon I’d directed it to plopped a hand on my shoulder and began speaking over me .

“Calm yourself, Yuki . Is the individual you are referring to the one that has recently entered the forest?”

“Yeah, that’s the guy . Guess that means you also sensed him . He’s the biggest threat I’ve ever seen, and for some goddamn reason, he’s headed straight for us!”

“I believe that the man you speak of is likely one of my acquaintances . ”

I stopped messing with the UI to give Lefi a blank stare .

“I said that the man you speak of, the mighty individual that has only just entered the forest, is one of my acquaintances, and not one in Gyogarr’s vein . Unlike the dim-witted dragon you slew, he is one I consider as something of an old friend . A violent confrontation is unlikely, let alone one in which we attempt to take each other’s lives . His presence is no cause for concern, Yuki . Calm yourself . ”

“Are you sure?”

“Do you not trust me?” she said with a teasing grin .

Seeing her act the same way she always did pulled my mind out of crisis mode and allowed me to finally accept that nothing was wrong .

“…I do,” I responded after a brief pause . “There’s no one I trust more . ”

“I am well aware of that . ” Lefi chuckled . “Do not worry, Yuki . I will ensure that you remain safe, even in the face of your overwhelming cowardice . ”

I smiled wryly as the dragon girl reassured me the same way I usually reassured the girls—with a pat on the head .

“If you say so . ” After taking one last deep breath, I stopped setting up traps, closed the dungeon’s UI, and lowered my hands . “So… this friend of yours, what’s he like?”

“I am not quite sure how to best describe him . ”

“What do you mean?”

“He and I were never particularly close . We rarely interact . It is only the occasional twist of fate that brings us to do so . To tell you the truth, I know very little about him . ”

“Uh huh…”

I guess that’s why she said “something of” an old friend .

“The one thing I can tell you for certain is that he neither eats nor drinks . In fact, he does not even possess a body . ”

“Yeah, I dunno about you, but me, I don’t really think that makes any sense . ”

Pretty sure you can’t be a living thing if you don’t eat, drink, or have a body .

“It was not exactly correct for me to conclude that he does not have a body,” elaborated Lefi . “It would be more accurate to state that he does not have flesh or blood . He is, in effect, a conscious orb of light . ”

“Yeah, not helping . I get that you were trying to come up with a better explanation, but all that really did for me was confuse me even more . I’m trying to imagine him based on how you just described him, but I’m drawing up a blank . ”

Might as well slap an “unexplained phenomenon” label on his head, like they did for Nessie and whatnot, and call it a day .

“T-that is not my fault,” said the dragon, indignantly . “There was no way I could have provided a better explanation given my lack of knowledge of his nature . ” She paused for a moment to clear her throat . “Whatever the case, there is no need for us to enter the forest to intercept him . I will meet with him when he arrives, as he is headed in our direction and likely aware of my presence . ”

“A-alright, then how about we wait outside the cave?”

I was still a bit nervous, so though I had our pets, who were hanging around in the grasslands, stand down, I had told the rest of the dungeon’s residents to stay put for the time being . Once all that was sorted, I ventured into the great outdoors with Lefi by my side .

***

“I feel… a familiar presence . ” He halted as he found himself overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia . The domineering aura that lay ahead of him was one that led him to reminiscence of the days of old . “It is a strange twist of fate . To think that the child would find herself in the company of one I am so familiar with . ”

He began to move again after chuckling at the unexpected discovery . And though his advance led him through none other than the dreaded Wicked Forest itself, he remained unconfronted . The sense of power that radiated off him kept all the monsters at bay . Their instincts drove them to evacuate his vicinity and steer clear of his path . Eventually, after a long, unobstructed advance, one that almost made it seem as if he was slowly phasing through the forest, he reached his destination .

It was a clearing, one that was merged with a tall, rocky wall . As he directed his consciousness up the cliff face, he found himself greeted by a pair standing in front of the entrance to a cave—the first creatures to confront him since he entered the forest . One was a young maiden from which he could feel power overwhelming, and the other a man whose magical energies could only be described as bizarre .

“It has been but the briefest of occasions since our last encounter . Yet, your corpus has diminished greatly in size, oh greatest of all dragons . ” He called out to them as he approached .

“Hmph . ” The maiden snorted . “And I can see from the manner of your speech alone that you have not changed at all . ”

“It is in my essence, for its permanence is second only to the perpetuity of the flux . A mere few hundred years is too brief an instant for time to see me altered,” he said, indifferently . “I had known that the passage of the ages differed between us, yet your newfound form is incongruous with even the wildest of omens . ”

“…I have had many new and unexpected experiences as of late,” said the dragon, with a wry smile . “I see that your habit of suddenly appearing without any prior warning has also failed to change . Why have you come this time?”

“I will soon vindicate my presence, but I believe that it must be delayed, for I must first engage in a vital exchange of salutations . ”

He turned his gaze to the man that stood by the dragon’s side .

“This is the first instance in which our paths have intersected . It is an honour, oh lord of labyrinths,” he said . “It is Yggdrasil by which I am referred . My title deems me to spirits what you are to dragonkind—the sovereign entity under which they are observed . ”

With a slow, nod-like bow, the lord of spirits introduced himself to his newest acquaintance .