166: Chapter 166: "Princess" Fights "Evil Dragon"? Where's the Hero?

Something seemed to blot out the last remaining bit of light under the dim sky in the distance.

It was enough to cover the sky and the sun...

"Chen Mo, you said you encountered quite a few urban legends the last time you were here. You didn't run into the last two?" Ryan asked, lightly nudging Chen Mo with the armor on his elbow.

"Right, I didn't run into the Rakshasa Ghost or the Evil Dragon. But, maybe, perhaps, it looks like we've run into them this time?" The 'Mo' in Chen Mo was the same character as in 'humor,' but it seemed the timing for a joke wasn't quite right.

Before the Evil Dragon even arrived, its breath did—a long streak of deep blue death flame sliced down from the center of the Science and Technology Park. Ryan pushed Chen Mo aside, saving him from being turned into charred coal on the spot.

"So, was it because you were lucky last time, or because you're a man and the Evil Dragon only likes princesses?" Loran began to analyze the reason for the dragon's appearance from an academic perspective. At the same time, she raised her staff and cast [Wild Blessing] on everyone, a decent buff that increased evasion and attack power for six hours.

A high-pitched dragon roar seemed ready to tear the sky apart. Mia looked up at the dragon in the sky, and her [Eye of the Dead] flared with pale blue flames...

[Bone Dragon: Undead creature, 5000 HP, damage unknown. (Friendly tip from the survival maintenance system: If it's not necessary, try not to provoke such a durable thing. Of course, your current HP is much higher than its, so if you wish, its skull could serve as your collection.)]

The cold flames showed no sign of dying out. With a single breath, the Bone Dragon neatly split one park into two.

"The Evil Spirit of the Deep Forest is in the Junkyard; the Water Ghost that drags people down to take their place is at the Water Supply Equipment Center; the legend of the Ghost of the Ancient Mansion is in the Office Building; I ran away too fast to be sure if the Rakshasa Ghost was near that restroom Mia asked me to investigate..." Chen Mo spoke quickly and with certainty. Ryan gave a brief response in the squad channel and headed toward the Water Supply Equipment Center with Loran.

"So, should we go to the Office Building, or the place you're looking for?" Chen Mo looked up at the Bone Dragon still circling in the dim sky and asked Mia softly.

"First, let's bring this big guy down and confirm something while we're at it!" Mia lifted her devastatingly beautiful face and gave Chen Mo a sweet smile. Then, she unfurled her bat-like leathery wings and soared into the sky, heading straight for the Bone Dragon!

"What thing?! Do you have to be so aggressive? Can't we confirm it secretly??" Chen Mo was practically breaking down from the shock Mia was giving him. Wouldn't it be better to just wait for such a massive urban legend to fly away on its own?

"One, to see if this giant dragon can kidnap a princess. Two, to see if it's the 'Ceiling of Lv2 Difficulty' mentioned in the Paradise Lost announcement."

"If it is, we can peacefully flatten this former devil's den. If not, then it's as I thought—things will be a bit more troublesome."

While flying, Mia had already pulled the [Soul Blade: One Person] from her chest. With a stunning series of slashes, her [Shun Strike] hit the base of the [Bone Dragon]'s massive wings.

The Bone Dragon hadn't expected a bold insect to dare engage it in head-on combat. Following its plan to breathe some fire, circle twice, and then leave, it was about to exit this temporary space rift.

However, the sharp pain at the base of its left bone wing made it stumble in mid-air. It hadn't felt pain in who knows how many years. It was furious, only to find a Demon King-level Succubus hovering beside it, her eyes flickering with the flames of death and [Charm]...

"Run! Only a fool would risk their life against a high-ranking demon! At the end of the day, I'm just a mount." Mia's first attack had shaved off nearly 1,000 of its HP. The Bone Dragon fled in panic, the flapping of its giant wings even kicking up a hurricane.

A bullet Chen Mo had fired earlier also luckily struck the dragon wing Mia had heavily damaged. The massive wing broke under this final straw, and the tip of the wing disintegrated and scattered from the sky...

The Bone Dragon glided and fell into an unknown and unsearchable evil space outside the Inner World of the Science and Technology Park...

"So, so-called fear is just a psychological state caused by a lack of strength, isn't it, Great Detective?" Mia flew back to Chen Mo's side. Although the undead flames in the park were still burning and remained just as cold, Chen Mo wasn't that afraid anymore.

"The first dungeon for this body of mine was 'Goblin Slayer,' a hot-blooded battle anime," Mia told Chen Mo in a low voice, recounting a past that seemed to be right before her eyes.

"But for this frail body, that hot-blooded battle anime was a hell so terrifying it could take her life at any moment."

"No amount of bird songs, floral scents, or Cleric churches in the town could erase her fear."

"One man's meat is another man's poison... perhaps that's what it means." Mia felt a bit dejected and didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"So, did you save her? Or did you destroy her?" Chen Mo interjected with interest.

"I occupied her body, ate her soul, and became her!" Mia gave Chen Mo a cold, wicked smile.

"Stop joking. Let's go, the Office Building is just ahead. Or do you still want to go to that lost restroom you mentioned?" Chen Mo didn't take her seriously and directly suggested the next step.

"Let's go to the Office Building. I suspect the fellow in the restroom is the most difficult opponent in this dungeon..." Mia's silken feet stepped onto the park ground covered in bloodstains and rotting leaves, exuding a thick sense of sacrilegious beauty...

...On Loran and Ryan's side, they had watched Mia fly into the sky and cut down the massive Bone Dragon with brute force, leaving them both with their mouths wide open in shock.

"That thing... it shouldn't be as strong as the Celestial Master. It's normal for it to be cut down, right?" Ryan was seeking mental comfort from Loran.

"Yeah, it's just a bit big. It was driven away, not killed. For Mia, it's normal..." Loran also began to frantically rationalize Mia's abnormal behavior...

"They say evil dragons kidnap princesses, but if the princess is Mia, this is probably what happens to the dragon. Good thing it's a Bone Dragon; if it were a fleshy dragon, it would probably end up as a giant piece of roast meat on a stick..."

Ryan thought to himself that his identity as a werewolf meant he could have kidnapped a princess too—wasn't that how it went in Van Helsing? Luckily, he hadn't done anything stupid back then.

Turning the corner ahead, the two arrived at the somewhat dilapidated entrance of the Water Supply Equipment Center. It was a low, two-story building. Ryan suspected it was a structure that sank into the ground, with the main area being underground.

He kicked open the rusted, mottled iron door and turned to look at Loran. "Mia was right about one thing just now. If you have the strength to protect yourself, a so-called horror dungeon is just an action-packed battle anime with a slightly dirty environment... You going in? Or should I?"

"I'll do it. Underwater combat doesn't seem very friendly to you..." Loran looked at Ryan in his tin-can-like armor, her lips curling slightly upward. With that, she stepped into the pitch-black building...