"Dad!"
The cry echoed over and over through the empty fortress.
Ethan thought to himself: How did I end up as the ancestor of the Weasley family again? "Rise, my son."
Ethan patted Henry's head like he was stroking a loyal dog.
He'd already come to terms with it just fine.
Phew. Sensing no hostility from Ethan, Henry secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
He was still on the side of humans.
It felt like dealing with some prehistoric monster.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the prisoners slumped on the ground, terrified and uncertain.
Henry looked up.
He stared into those inorganic, cobalt-blue eyes, cold and unfeeling like a reptile's.
Gritting his teeth, he said with a tremor in his voice:
"Please... save us."
"I am Henry Weasley of the Weasley family, and we have a large fortune."
"Once we escape, we'll definitely repay you handsomely! We'll do anything you ask!!"
In the end,
Ethan left the Hellhound with these prisoners.
It escorted them, helping them flee the fortress.
Henry Weasley watched Ethan's back vanish at the end of the passage.
An immense wave of reverence surged in his chest.
So powerful... Is this what a true powerhouse is like?
Sweeping through armies, doing whatever he pleases.
"Is it 'Light'... What a strange name."
Henry murmured.
"I truly hope I can become someone like that too... capable of protecting everyone."
He pulled himself together.
He raised his blood-stained truncheon.
With a resolute gaze, he swept his eyes over the frightened prisoners and shouted:
"We cannot betray the hero's kindness!"
"Charge! Let's carve a bloody path out of here!!"
Cerberus snorted disdainfully, and the air it exhaled corroded the wall.
The prisoners cautiously stood up, picking up their truncheons.
Compared to the righteous "hero,"
the youth who had appeared out of nowhere seemed more like a demon straight from hell.
Using an even greater evil to devour the existing one.
The only fortunate thing was that
this "demon" was on the side of humanity.
Ethan continued downward.
Along the way, he casually dispatched the goblins that charged at him.
He couldn't help but think they were utterly clueless.
The master of the fortress had arrived—why weren't they kneeling in welcome?
Instead, they were attacking him?
Ethan shook his head with a snort.
The underground levels of the goblin fortress were a maze, with countless passages twisting and intersecting.
It was a good thing he had the fortress map the goblins had provided.
Otherwise,
Ethan figured he'd just go with "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
He'd simply blast straight down from the top.
The deeper he went,
the hotter the air grew.
Eventually, it reached a point where even with Ethan casting a cooling charm, his back was still drenched in sweat.
On the thick black iron walls, flowing crimson veins were visible.
Like the blood vessels of a living creature,
they pulsed with an incredibly rich magical aura.
Finally,
when Ethan rode the elevator through a deep pit filled with glowing blue ore,
he arrived at the deepest, heart-like core of the fortress: the Great Smeltery.
The heat warped the air,
causing beads of sweat to instantly form on Ethan's forehead. "Rumble..." A low hum from the earth's veins rose from beneath his feet, accompanied by a slight tremor.
It was as if a colossal beast were roaring,
carrying an overwhelming presence.
Crimson-orange magma flowed across the dark ground,
like rivers, all converging into the central machine!
It resembled a crouching behemoth of black iron.
Its massive body towered tens of meters high!
Circular in shape, its black shell bore the marks of prolonged exposure to extreme heat.
It was mottled with bronze and reddish-brown patches.
Ancient runes were carved around it, flickering with a glowing blue light.
From the square observation port, an unblinking golden glow surged forth.
With magma as its blood, winding pipes as its arteries,
and the immense magic drawn from the endless supply of glowing blue ore constantly circulating within,
this was the heart of the Great Smeltery!
Thump! Thump!
Ethan stared at it in a daze.
In his trance, he felt his own heartbeat synchronize with it.
Undoubtedly,
inside this smeltery lay the ancient magic he sought—the power capable of slaying the gatekeeper blocking his path to advancement!!
At the same time,
Ethan could clearly sense that
it wasn't complete yet.
Something was still missing.
Just then,
a hoarse voice rang out:
"You really came..."
"'Light'."
Hearing this,
Ethan paused for a moment.
He shouted, "Who goes there! Show yourself right now!!"
As he spoke,
his gaze darted upward, scanning the area.
Lanluote, the goblin leader, standing in front of the smeltery, thought: You brat, you really deserve to die.
He ground his molars.
Staring at Ethan's figure, he said slowly:
"However, I didn't expect that the one who twice annihilated my goblin forces would be nothing more than a mere youngster."
Only then did Ethan lock his eyes on the short figure before him.
He tilted his head and said earnestly:
"I also didn't expect that the dwarfs from Snow White would actually dream of ruling the world."
Even the Evil Queen would laugh her false teeth right out.
Lanluote's expression darkened even further.
He felt like after just two sentences with this brat, his head was already pounding!
He was furious!
"You silver-tongued punk... Maybe you've got some skills, but what about the other humans?"
Lanluote curled his lips into a malicious grin.
His fangs bared, he looked utterly sinister.
"While you've been spouting your clever lines, my subordinates have already slaughtered countless humans!!"
Lanluote spread his arms dramatically.
His eyes burned with extreme fanaticism and confidence!
"This fortress was built with every bit of our goblin technology and wealth!"
"It is impregnable!"
"The alchemy inside it—I'm afraid you wizards could never figure it out in a lifetime! It's beyond your wildest imagination."
"As long as it stands, we are invincible—"
Before he could finish,
"Rumble!!!"
The ground shook violently!
Debris rained down from above.
Blazing magma splashed, eroding the earth.
Even the massive steel smeltery trembled slightly!
Lanluote: ???
What happened?!!
The goblin leader's pupils constricted.
Because this was no ordinary tremor.
The fortress had taken a massive hit from the outside!!
But how could that be?!!
Lanluote's mind reeled.
He glanced at Ethan.
He quickly pulled down his goggles, etched with intricate magical runes.
Connecting to the "Eye of Surveillance" perched atop the fortress.
As soon as the image appeared,
he saw a gaping maw lunging straight at him!
"Gulp!"
Lanluote couldn't help but shudder violently.
His heart skipped a beat in sheer terror.
Then,
he realized that
the gaping maw—was actually sprouting from a cabbage?!
Lanluote: ???
No, wasn't he supposed to be facing human wizards?
Where did this plant come from?!!
"Sizzle!"
The Eye of Surveillance fired a magical ray, incinerating the bizarre cabbage to ashes.
However,
before Lanluote could even catch his breath,
he saw a shadow slowly creeping up from below.
It was a vast net woven from eerie purple vines.
It tightly ensnared the Eye of Surveillance's view.
And what's more,
it had an astonishing resistance to spells.
Lanluote:
This is... Devil's Snare?
Isn't Devil's Snare supposed to fear light? What's with this total resistance?!!
Lanluote felt like a million question marks were exploding in his brain.
It was as if his carefully orchestrated battlefield had been overrun by a sudden horde of ten thousand trolls.
Just before his vision was completely blocked,
the goblin leader caught sight of a group of wizards soaring through the sky.
Riding strange and monstrous beasts,
they dove like falcons toward the screaming goblins on the ground.
In the silence,
only Ethan's clear, cheerful voice rang out:
"These are my wizard troops! Have you ever seen such joyous and happy cult—ahem, righteous wizards?"