CHAPTER 104: CHAPTER 104 - THE TOWER, SHAKEN

Chapter 104 - The Tower, Shaken

Broken office equipment lay scattered across the floor, and sections of the wall were torn down and crumbling.

Through the shattered windowpane, she could see this place was fairly high up.

Carefully approaching the window, she looked out.

Below her spread the view of Bey World.

Is this... inside BeyTower?

Then why had she fallen alone?

It seemed entering the Seed Room caused each person to be teleported to a random part of the tower.

How troublesome.

Millie held her breath and slipped out of the office.

The corridor of BeyTower — long untouched by visitors — was steeped in a gloomy, oppressive aura.

A dangling fluorescent light, still broken and flickering, blinked erratically overhead.

Strangely, the power had not yet been cut.

And just then—

"...!"

She felt someone’s presence nearby.

Millie raised her pistol, staring silently into the dark.

How long did she wait?

Steady footsteps began drawing closer.

Person? Monster?

Since the Company had entered the Seed Room too, there was a high probability this was an enemy.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

What appeared with light steps was a small-framed monster.

"Wha—! Have you never laid eyes on the King!?"

"...Lykan?"

"Answer me! Where is His Majesty!?"

Millie lowered her pistol and replied.

"Mr. Jhin must have been transported somewhere around here too. Don’t worry too much. Nothing’s going to happen to him."

As if he’s the one to be worried about.

If something in this place did pose a threat to Jhin, then no one in this building was making it out alive.

Millie shrugged lightly and continued walking.

"...Where are you going?"

"To find the King."

"I-I shall accompany you!"

The trembling Lykan scurried after her, sticking close behind.

Looking down at him, Millie asked casually,

"You’re not scared or anything, right?"

"Wh-what nonsense! I am a mighty Grand-goblin! I—I fear nothing!"

"Then why are you shaking?"

"..."

Had his body grown smaller along with his courage?

Was this really the same boss monster who had once threatened them in that D-grade dungeon?

What’s this guy so afraid of, anyway?

A spirit-controlling monster shouldn’t have any reason to fear something as simple as a ghost.

This guy’s just like... a little kid.

Like a lost child at an amusement park, Lykan kept glancing around with fear in his eyes.

Millie gave a little shrug and matched her pace to his short legs.

"Lykan. Now that I think about it, I don’t think we’ve ever really talked at length before."

"...Haven’t we?"

"You said you weren’t originally a monster, right? That your memories suddenly returned?"

"That is correct. I am a proud descendant of the Grand-goblin clan."

"Then how did you end up becoming a monster?"

Even with all her battered experience, Millie had never seen a monster revert into an NPC.

Even Grid — who had once been human before becoming a monster — had never turned back.

"I... I do not know!"

"Not even a little?"

"I do not remember at all!"

To Lykan’s bold declaration, Millie nodded with surprising ease.

He probably wasn’t lying.

In game terms, ’Three-Horned Grand-goblin Lykan’ felt more like a guide NPC than anything else.

Didn’t he first tell Mr. Jhin to seek out the dignity of a king?

That was probably a keyword.

It was likely an instruction for Jhin, who possessed the Goblin Hood, to find the matching set item, the ’Goblin Orb’ — and perhaps other related artifacts.

Once he obtained that item, perhaps new information would be unlocked from Lykan’s memory.

And from there, the secrets of the Grand-goblin would gradually be revealed.

A hidden quest.

One that had never been made public in Exodia 1.

Looking down at the waddling Lykan walking beside her, Millie became more certain of her theory.

And then—

Ruuuuumble!!

Suddenly, BeyTower shook violently, as if it might collapse.

Millie grabbed Lykan and pressed them both tightly against the wall.

An earthquake?

A few moments later, the tremor subsided.

The interior fell silent again, as if nothing had happened.

Meeting Lykan’s gaze, Millie spoke.

"Let’s go."

"Y-yes."

But before they’d taken many steps, they were forced to stop.

A section of the wall in the direction they were heading had completely caved in.

Peeking in that direction, Millie swallowed hard, her vigilance heightened to the extreme.

...Arman.

With its tongue lolling out, the dragon had crashed its head into the interior of the building and was unconscious.

Judging from how its body was slowly sliding backward, it was starting to collapse from its own weight.

"What happened here?"

Could the earthquake just now have been caused by Arman crashing into BeyTower?

Millie moved closer, keeping her tension in check.

She looked near the dragon’s giant nostrils — and she knew.

It’s dying.

The life force, faint as it was, was fading fast.

That raised another question.

Just who had managed to kill a dragon?

Did the ’undying trait’ not apply to this one?

If so, then just what could have done this to it—

As she pieced the clues together, she caught sight of Lykan waving toward something.

"...Your Majesty."

Furrowing her brow and checking in that direction, Millie bit down on her lip.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Lykan by the nape of his neck and yanked him backward.

"W-what are you doing—!"

Crackkkk!

Something slammed into the spot Lykan had just been standing on.

Millie lowered her eyes and blocked the oncoming attack with her pistol.

Shaaaaang!

A sharp metallic resonance rang out as her body was flung backward.

Even as she tumbled, she instantly locked onto her target and fired.

Bang!

A near miss.

The moment her feet hit the ground, she leapt away from the spot.

Dodging took priority. Lykan didn’t utter a word and let her carry him.

They ran to the end of the corridor.

Catching her breath low, she widened her eyes and scanned the space ahead.

A man was walking toward them — slowly.

"...You said Arman would win."

The man’s face was dry and emotionless.

Then, tilting his head sharply to the side—

He grinned.

"Kiiiieeeeeeeek..."

A cry, not quite human, spilled from his throat.