The pressure he releases—he would notice imdiately, even if I tried to hide my aura." Damian lowered his voice. "My aura is too large. It’s impossible to hide sothing like mine without soone powerful detecting it."
Nolan nodded slowly.
"Yeah, he would notice. But still... you can kill him in the blink of an eye, anyti you want." He crossed his arms. "The only reason I don’t want you taking action—and the only reason Lyra isn’t attacking either—is because the dwarves will see us killing demons. And when they see our strength, they will feel indebted to . That way, they will put their whole heart into forging my sword."
Damian bowed his head slightly, respect clear in his voice.
"Yes, Master... you are truly wise."
"Maybe I am," Nolan said. He had just finished speaking when he felt a presence.
He turned his head—and saw a dwarf flying toward them at high speed.
She landed lightly on the ground, dust lifting around her feet.
It was Lyra. She shifted back into her true form, her silver hair falling down her shoulders as she bowed deeply.
"Master, I’m back," Lyra said.
"Good," Nolan replied. "What did you notice?"
But Lyra didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, her nose twitched. She sniffed the air like a beast catching the scent of prey.
"Wait... wow. What is this sll?"
She took another deep breath.
"It slls really nice."
Nolan sighed lightly.
"You noticed? I went out to go cut a bull. And Celia and Linda prepared it. They also found so rice... and other ingredients inside this stone house."
Lyra’s eyes brightened.
"Wow... it slls amazing."
"It does," Nolan agreed. "But put that aside. Speak. What information did you find? Tell everything."
Lyra’s playful expression vanished. She stood straight, serious.
"Master... there are many demons. A lot. And many of them are powerful. The ones inside the kingdom, especially the one inside the castle—the place where dwarves are not allowed to enter—that one is extrely strong."
She hesitated before continuing.
"You can naturally wipe them all out. All of them. But it will take ti. And if they discover how powerful you are—or how powerful Damian and I are—they might stoop so low as to use the dwarves as shields."
Nolan’s eyes narrowed.
"Even if they use the dwarves as shields... I can stop ti."
His voice was calm, but there was sothing terrifying behind it.
"Now that I’ve grown stronger, no being will be able to move when I stop ti. Not you. Not Damian. Not a single demon."
Lyra swallowed. She knew he wasn’t exaggerating.
"I could stop ti and kill them all if I wanted." Nolan continued.
He looked toward the distant castle, his expression unreadable.
"We’re going to wipe out the demons inside the kingdom first. Every last one of them. Then we will head to the final one—the high-ranking demon in the castle."
Lyra nodded, though tension flickered in her eyes.
"Master... he will notice."
Nolan smirked.
"Good. Let him."
Then he added, with a sharper tone:
"When his demons start disappearing, he might decide to take action."
Lyra stepped closer, voice low:
"Master... no—no shit."
"By tomorrow... you have to go," Nolan said, his voice steady and commanding. The firelight reflected off his eyes, making them look sharper than usual.
Damian and Lyra both straightened, listening closely.
"I will give the orders," Nolan continued. "You and Damian will move first. There are over one hundred demons who have shapeshifted into dwarfs and blended into this kingdom. By tomorrow, when I give the signal, you two will hunt them down and kill every single one of them."
Lyra and Damian exchanged a glance. The air around them tightened with tension.
"If you finish that," Nolan added, "then I will personally go after the one in the castle."
Damian bowed lightly.
"Yes, Master."
Nolan raised his hand.
"But this ti... there’s no need for either of you to shapeshift into dwarfs. No disguises. No blending."
His tone grew colder.
"Let them see you in your human forms. Let the demons panic when they realize humans are walking among them. And let the dwarfs see with their own eyes that so of their own people... were demons in disguise."
Both Damian and Lyra nodded firmly.
Nolan continued:
"After you two are done killing them, I will join in. I’m going to gather the important dwarfs—the chiefs, the elders, the blacksmiths, everyone who matters—and I will take them with to the castle."
His aura surged a little, like the air itself was reacting to him.
"I want them to witness what I’m capable of. I want them to see the high‑ranking demon who has been controlling this kingdom from the shadows."
Lyra clenched her fists.
"They’ve only heard rumors..."
Nolan nodded.
"Exactly. No dwarf truly knows if their king is alive or dead. The castle is forbidden—even the royal staff and maids aren’t allowed inside. Tomorrow, that ends."
A heavy silence fell, filled with determination.
Damian placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply.
"Yes, Master. You’re right. This is the best choice—and the best action we can take."
Lyra bowed as well.
Nolan looked at both of them, expression firm and unshakable.
The atmosphere between them was heavy—thick with tension, thick with aura.
Then suddenly, footsteps approached.
Celia and Linda ca walking toward them, each carrying food. One held a bowl of steaming rice, the other a huge tray stacked with freshly pulled at. The sll instantly changed the whole mood.
"Food is ready!" Celia said with a bright smile.
The heaviness lted at once. Nolan, Lyra, and Damian all smiled a little despite themselves.
They sat together, and Celia and Linda began serving everyone. Nolan took a spoonful first. Celia and Linda moved closer, watching him like hawks. Celia almost leaned forward in anticipation.
He didn’t say anything at first.
The two girls glanced at each other, eyes sparkling, then said together:
"Master... how is it?"
Nolan swallowed, nodded, and said:
"It’s actually really good."
Celia and Linda imdiately high‑fived each other.
"We did it!"
"Master likes it!"
Then they hurriedly scooped more at and rice.
"Master, eat more! If you like it, you can have as much as you want!"
"Here—take this piece too!"
They hovered beside him like two excited attendants.
Nolan kept eating, but after a mont he froze.
He slowly turned his eyes toward them.
"Why are you two watching like that? It feels... a little awkward."
Linda smiled innocently.
"Just ignore us. Pretend we’re not here."
Nolan blinked.
"...As if that’s possible."
In his head, he complained silently:
They’re staring too much. Celia has beautiful hair... Linda too... and Damian, man, she’s eating like she hasn’t eaten in a week... This is way too much attention...
He cleared his throat.
"Aren’t you two going to eat?"
Linda shook her head.
"But we want to watch you eat—"
Nolan cut her off.
"No. Go eat your food. I won’t take another bite if you two don’t go eat."
The girls exchanged a look, then pouted.
"Okay, Master..."
They finally left and got their own portions, then ca right back and sat on either side of Nolan—still close enough that he could feel their presence, but at least they were eating now.
Lyra, on the other hand, was devouring her food at top speed.
"This is REALLY good!" she said, cheeks full.
Damian was the sa, eating fast but with grace.
"Wow... this is actually amazing," Damian said. "Ever since I beca a human, I’ve been enjoying dishes I never had when I was still a dragon. The taste... everything is so different."
"Is that so? Well... yeah. It’s really tasty," Nolan said as he kept eating.
But then, his eyes narrowed.
Footsteps. Several of them.
Approaching fast.
The aura of the dwarves was getting closer to the stone house where they lived. They were still outside, still cooking, and the sll of food was strong enough to spread through half the valley.
Nolan stood slightly.
Did they find us? Did soone sense ?
How can dwarves notice this place?
Is it because of the food? Did the sll drag them here?
He clicked his tongue softly.
"This is not the best ti..."
The presence grew nearer—stronger. At least five dwarves.
Nolan raised a finger and whispered:
"Shhh... stay alert."
Damian imdiately rose. His expression sharpened, aura faintly flickering.
"Master, are there intruders? Should I take them out?"
"No. Let’s see who they are first," Nolan said.
The footsteps stopped... only a few ters away.
Then—
"Hey! We et again!" a voice called.
Nolan stepped forward slightly.
"What do you an by that? Who are you?"
The dwarf in front removed his helt.
"We’re the Dwarf Knights who guarded the entrance earlier. We were told to keep watch from a distance. But..."
He inhaled deeply, his eyes sparkling.
"...the sll. The sll of the food you’re cooking... it’s too good. I couldn’t resist coming closer. What are you preparing? Can we join?"
The other dwarf Knight nodded rapidly behind him.
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