Andras nodded.
"Yeah. Planting this many light‑orb flowers this densely takes a lot of work."
Ironclaw snorted.
"Can you eat these glowing balls?"
Andras immediately snapped at her.
"As far as I know, you wouldn't die… but you'd get a nasty stomachache. So don't you dare bite into one."
Ironclaw growled in disappointment.
The staircase finally ended in flat ground.
Andrea looked around.
"The stairs end here. Still no demons nearby, Ironclaw?"
The hound sniffed, then shook her head.
"I don't smell any yet."
Anita pointed ahead.
"There are three passages at the end of the corridor. What now?"
Andras looked at Ironclaw.
"Which way did the demons go?"
Ironclaw sniffed deeply, then pointed in all three directions.
"I smell them from all three."
Andrea folded her arms.
"So they split up. Should we split up too?"
Andras nodded.
"We have no choice. We don't know where each passage leads. They might even connect somewhere.
But we have to hunt down every demon anyway, so we'll continue in three groups."
Dividing the Team
Anita immediately stepped next to Andras.
"Alright, I'm going with Young Wolf, bye!"
Andrea's eyes narrowed.
"You don't get to decide that!"
Andras raised his hand.
"I'm going with Fireburp.
Andrea and Anita, you two decide who you want with you."
Anita sighed.
"Should've guessed.
Fine… sword, shield, magic?"
Andrea nodded.
"Agreed."
The three passages yawned before them, each one seeming to hide a different kind of danger.
The team members exchanged glances.
The demons were waiting below.
And Wolfwood's elite squad was ready to enter the depths.
Andras had just opened his mouth to speak when Anita stepped forward and shouted challengingly:
"Shield!"
Andrea instantly shot back:
"Magic!"
Anita stared at her in disbelief.
"Hey! You're a knight — why did you say magic instead of sword?!"
Andrea shrugged calmly.
"So that I win.
I choose Noelle."
Noelle looked a little surprised, but straightened proudly.
Anita huffed.
"Fine. Then Ironclaw is with me."
The hound slapped her tail against the ground in satisfaction.
Andras nodded, then gave the final order:
"Alright. First team: Andrea and Noelle take the first passage.
Second passage goes to Anita and Ironclaw.
And the third passage will be me and Fireburp."
Then he smiled as he looked over the team.
"And whichever team is lucky gets to fight the Fire Demon. Move out!"
The Teams Set Off
The elite squad split into three two‑person units and advanced simultaneously down the three different corridors.
The walls echoed their footsteps with a cold, hollow sound, and the light‑orb flowers cast an eerie glow over them.
The demons' leader was a Fire Demon — accompanied by roughly twenty imp spawn.
At least, if the Wolf Hunters had counted correctly.
Fireburp glanced nervously at Andras as they headed toward the third passage.
The others were excited.
She, however… had never fought even goblins before.
And demons were an entirely different category.
Deep in the Third Passage
(Young Wolf and Fireburp)
The walls of the third passage were narrower than those of the other two. The light‑orb flowers cast a faint bluish glow, making Fireburp's red hair shine even more vividly. The air was cool, and the silence was so deep that every step echoed.
Andras broke the silence with a casual tone.
"Now that I finally have a fire‑element user in my battle‑maid squad, all I need is an ice‑element maid."
Fireburp lifted her head.
"Ice‑element? Do you want a Frost Dragon too?"
Andras laughed.
"No, one dragon is enough for me.
I was thinking more of an ice‑mage elf woman… or maybe an elven Paladin with ice affinity."
"And where do you find such ice elves?"
"Far to the north, in the Elven Kingdom of Elindor."
Fireburp grimaced.
"That sounds really far."
"We won't be going there anytime soon."
The dragon girl sighed.
"First we have to survive the fight against the demons."
Andras shrugged.
"You're dramatizing again.
We're only up against one demon.
Any member of my elite team can defeat an average Fire Demon one‑on‑one."
Fireburp lowered her head.
"Well, I couldn't defeat one."
Andras glanced at her, then smiled.
"Right now, you're more like the mascot of my elite team."
Fireburp snapped her head up, offended.
"See?! Even you don't acknowledge me as a warrior!
Also… what's a mascot?"
Andras switched to an explanatory tone.
"Right now you're small, cute, and weak.
But one day you'll be big, beautiful, and strong.
I brought you so you can gain battle experience — dragons need situations like this."
Then he added:
"And all you really have to do is shoot down one or two imp spawn with your fireball.
If we run into the Fire Demon first, you can run away.
But if it's only the imp spawn, I can protect you from them. You'll be fine."
Fireburp asked uncertainly:
"Are you sure I won't get hurt?"
"You won't get hurt.
But even if you don't get through the fight without a scratch, Noelle will heal you. No problem."
Fireburp still looked worried.
"You're not afraid of demons?"
Andras' voice was confident.
"I've trained hard for years so I can win against strong opponents.
Maybe no matter how much I train, I'll never be able to defeat the Demon King…
maybe not even the Demon Generals."
He shrugged.
"But aside from them, there's no demon I need to fear."
The passage remained silent. Too silent.
Andras stopped.
"But we've been walking for a while now… and still no sign of demons."
Fireburp whispered softly:
"I'd rather not meet any of them at all."
At the End of the Passage
A faint light shimmered at the end of the passage.
Andras slowed down and raised his hand, signaling Fireburp to stop.
"I see something ahead.
A door… but there are things in front of it.
These must be imp spawn — but all of them are lying on the ground in their own blood."
Fireburp flinched.
"Who killed them?"
Andras stepped closer and examined the piles of bones scattered around.
"Four imp spawn… but look at these bone piles around them.
There are six piles, each with a sword and a magic stone beside it.
These must have been skeleton soldiers. Undead warriors."
Fireburp's eyes widened.
"So demons aren't enough… now we have to fight undead too?"
Andras scanned the ruined chamber.
"They killed each other.
Which means… the survivors of this fight are waiting for us behind that door."
Fireburp immediately took a step back.
"Okay, then let's turn around."
Andras didn't even look at her — he stepped forward.
"We're going through the door. Stay behind me."
"Can't I just run away?" Fireburp asked with a trembling voice.
"If you go back alone now, you'll run into demons and skeleton soldiers.
And then you'll have to fight them alone."
Fireburp instantly hid behind Andras.
"On second thought, I'll stay with you."
"Knew you would.
I'm opening the door — get ready."
Andras pushed the heavy stone door open. The hinges groaned deeply as the chamber beyond revealed itself.
Fireburp stared wide‑eyed.
"This is… a larger room?"
Andras nodded.
"And just as I thought… six skeleton soldiers guarding it.
If they're here, then the Fire Demon didn't come this way — it would've crushed these bone piles already."
Fireburp took a deep breath, then suddenly shouted:
"I… I'm a dragon! I'm not afraid of these bone piles!
Take this — Fireball!"