Placing Lancer's head on her lap had been a reflex; Olga Marie hadn't given it a second thought. But everything after—stroking his hair and letting him stay there—was a deliberate "offensive." When she noticed his strange, heavy breathing, she even fought back her shyness and sat up straighter.
In reality, she regretted it the moment she did it. She had never done anything like this in her life. Once she realized what was happening, she only maintained the posture through sheer pride; otherwise, she would have fled with a flaming red face long ago.
Perhaps human endurance is built through such trials. As time passed, her heartbeat returned to normal, and she even began to calculate a certain advantage————Could this be her edge?
Professor Fiore was highly admired by male magi at the Clock Tower, but despite years of effort, she had only grown from an A-cup to a B-cup. It was truly tragic. Olga, on the other hand, was born with a formidable C-rank combat capacity. When she condensed her spirit into a physical form, she had even secretly bumped it up a size—since she was a ghost, her shoulders wouldn't get tired, and it didn't affect her combat performance anyway.
When she peeked down at Lancer, she saw his breathing had returned to normal, but his eyes were fixed straight up. This made her blush, yet it also filled her with a sense of triumph.
Men really are predators after all...
Clearly, Olga Marie, unable to see the system interface, mistook Lancer's UI-browsing for staring at her chest. Of course, she wasn't entirely wronging him; he had been doing exactly that earlier.
But just as the cats were cuddling, Olga was enjoying the post-war rest, and Lancer was checking his loot, a strange sound caught his attention.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnel that had partially collapsed during the fight. Someone was coming.
Normally, meeting them wouldn't be a problem. Lancer had just saved countless lives. This black dragon would have surely continued its "revenge" against humans and Wyverians, but with its subjugation, it wouldn't be "resurrecting" anytime soon. The problem was that this wasn't a place for ordinary people.
The three cats and Olga Marie had been "baptized" by Elder Dragon Energy during the fight with the "Sapphire Star." This energy provided a degree of resistance against the corruption of the Evil Dragon's aura. They were safe as long as they didn't touch the blood directly or take a mental strike. If ordinary people lingered on this battlefield...
Lancer was certain the psychic backlash would drive them mad, perhaps even to the point of killing one another.
Furthermore, if Lancer were using an "Engraved Heroic Spirit Template," he might have been able to purify or absorb these emotions as the "King of a Hundred Ghosts," but in his normal state, he lacked that ability.
This meant the negative emotions would linger in this ruined city, with this battlefield being the epicenter.
Driving away the newcomers wouldn't be hard—Lancer was very good at "physical persuasion." However, that only treated the symptom. He was leaving in a few days, and given the human spirit of self-destruction, he knew explorers would eventually return.
He needed a permanent solution.
As it happened, he could try out that effect: "The Dragon Slayer Eventually Becomes the Dragon (Pseudo)"...
Lancer's battle with the black dragon in Castle Schrade had been world-shaking. The pillars of fire alone were enough to draw eyes from every camp stationed near the city.
Initially, realizing the monster that destroyed the city might still be there, their only reaction was to stay far away. But when Olga Marie's "Meteor" ritual summoned a star, and Lancer used it to deliver the finishing blow, the cataclysmic battle ended. The fire vanished, the dark clouds thinned, and ideas began to sprout in people's minds.
We don't know what happened, but... is the monster gone?
Most thought it was a ridiculous hope, yet it was what they yearned for. Several camps pooled their resources and sent a suicide squad to investigate.
They entered through the outer walls. The eerie silence of the city made them uneasy, but as a suicide squad, they had already put their lives on the line.
Leaving a small team to scout the perimeter, the main force pushed toward the castle. After working together to clear the rubble blocking the gate, they entered the "tunnel."
The pools of foul blood and horrific skeletons were a massive shock to their psyche, but they pressed on to the end of the passage. Then————
A massive black dragon was coiled amidst the ruins. As they stepped out, the resting beast snapped its eyes open and slowly rose to its feet.
They didn't even need to touch it. Just seeing it, that terrifying aura made their legs turn to jelly.
Without a second of hesitation, the leader fired a signal flare into the air and bolted. The others were hot on his heels.
Just as they scrambled out of the tunnel, a wall of terrifying flame roared through the passage. The ground and ruins were vitrified by the intense heat, and the entrance was completely sealed shut.
They didn't stop to think; they just ran. Who knew if that monster would hunt them down?
As the squad regrouped with the others outside and fled the city, Arrou, standing atop the castle ruins, waved a paw toward the figure below.
The "monstrous black dragon" actually let out a sigh. The black smoke dissipated, revealing Lancer in his armor.
Clearly, the "dragon" had been Lancer. He couldn't stop human curiosity, but he could certainly increase their survival instinct. Once word got out that the "Black Dragon" was still alive, no one would dare return. As for those who still chose to seek death?
Even gods can't save a ghost bent on dying. If they came, they came prepared for the end. The psychic malice here would drive them mad if it didn't kill them. Their fate would only serve to make others even more cautious.
Lancer had done everything he could. The rest was up to the world itself...