Roar!!!

“Ugh!!!”

My eardrums! It felt like they were about to burst! Li clamped both hands over his ears. That roar was deafening! The whole canyon shook beneath it! The Underworld Griffin he’d hit, the other Underworld Griffins, and even the White Wolf Twins all obediently flattened themselves against the ground, as if kneeling!

Their eyes were full of terror! Their whole bodies trembled, and the one-eyed Underworld Griffin had even pissed itself...

Li felt his legs trembling. His hands were trembling too. He couldn’t move, as if he were trapped beneath the desert’s immense power...

What had made that sound?

What kind of monster had made that sound?

Could it be a dragon? Could it be the one Hortons had mentioned—the master of the Abyss of the Underworld... that dragon...?

Li had never heard a dragon’s voice before, so he couldn’t be sure that was its roar. But... that sound... it was the most soul-shaking sound he’d ever heard. It even reminded him of the time his mom had gone off on him in his old world! That roar had left him unable to move, trembling uncontrollably...

It felt just like that—as if someone had roared at him in a fit of rage.

【Master!】

“That’s... a dragon?”

【Yes.】

So it really was a dragon. That meant it was somewhere in this canyon right now. He had no idea where, but if Hortons was right and dragons were highly intelligent creatures, maybe he’d get the chance to talk to one. Then again, Hortons had also said there was a much higher chance the dragon would swallow him whole!

He couldn’t take another gamble now...

Given the situation, he couldn’t even muster the courage to gamble again. After that roar, he had no courage left at all.

The whole world fell silent. After the dragon’s roar, the whole world fell silent. The Underworld Griffins didn’t dare move in the slightest, and the White Wolf Twins lay obediently on the ground, trembling. In this situation, only Li still dared to move. Like a young calf unafraid of a tiger, he’d never seen that dragon, so he didn’t know just how terrifying it was.

Those magical beasts had probably all seen that dragon before...

Li didn’t dare think about it any longer. While he still could... while he could still escape! While the magical beasts hadn’t come to their senses yet, he absolutely couldn’t waste any more time!

Li steeled himself and dashed out. Even when the Underworld Griffins saw him move, they stayed obediently flattened against the ground, trembling as if their very souls had been cowed. Li hurried over to Phoebe. Without stopping to think, he hoisted her over his shoulder. As he passed the White Wolf Twins, he stepped on their tails.

The two white wolves sprang to their feet in pain and turned to glare viciously at Li.

“I don’t know if you can understand me! If you don’t want to die here, get out of here right now! Understand?”

That was the best Li could do. The rock had hit the Underworld Griffin right on the head, but it hadn’t hurt it at all! That was more than enough to prove he couldn’t risk another gamble! If he kept messing around, he really would die here!

Run!

This was their last chance! Run! They had to get out now!

...

On a rock jutting out from a distant cliff face, she silently watched three figures moving away: him and two white wolves.

She looked at the egg in her hand, now reduced to fragments...

She dropped the broken eggshell, then turned and drifted away.