Startled, Rune called out to her.
Christina appeared, holding a massive lance.
Christina shouted at the wicked intruder who had invaded her lair.
"Who dares to invade the domain of a servant of the Demon King?!"
Enraged, she pointed the tip of her lance at the Dullahan that had emerged from the center of her lair.
At that moment, the magic power that permeated the entire lair began to move, and an ancient incantation spell started to activate.
A harbinger of the power that would erupt with the fury of the Gold Dragon Elder.
Rune's spine shivered, sensing the impending crisis.
"No! Christina! I've revived this one after failing over a hundred times!"
Desperately, Rune embraced his Dullahan.
A cold gaze turned toward Rune.
Christina's aura was terrifying, making his body tense and his skin crawl.
However, he couldn't afford to lose a subordinate who might not be obtainable again.
"Rune, you said you revived it?"
"Yes. I revived this one."
Her golden eyebrow twitched. After a moment of silence, Christina fixed her gaze on the two.
It was a stern voice he had never heard before.
Rune hesitated but eventually began to recount the entire story of how he obtained the bones of the dead.
Enraged, Christina sternly rebuked him with a firm voice.
"Is that what you call an explanation? I told you not to go to dangerous places!"
"It wasn't a dangerous place. The <Abandoned Mine Dungeon> is like a mineral dungeon, and the monsters there were easily dealt with by dwarves. But then the <Hidden Dungeon> was created..."
Rune, startled by Christina's call, shrank his shoulders and lowered his head.
He looked like a scolded puppy.
But Christina, who was thoroughly angry, had no intention of showing him any mercy.
By this point, Rune was breaking out in a cold sweat.
'This... I have to beg to survive.'
Rune immediately knelt and shouted.
Having revived a Demon King's knight who was sealed, and having disobeyed her order not to go to dangerous places, Christina's anger was justified, and Rune had indeed done wrong by trying to hide it.
The Dullahan, who had been watching Rune, also knelt beside him.
The Dullahan, with his hands neatly placed on his armored knees, bowed his upper body in apology.
He looked somewhat dejected.
Seeing the two, Christina lowered her lance.
The armor, helmet, and lance all became transparent and dissolved into light.
The equipment vanished, and she descended to stand before Rune and the Dullahan.
Feeling the deep sigh, Rune squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.
The pressure had lessened, but the piercing gaze remained.
"Alright. I understand the circumstances, but that doesn't mean I forgive you."
"One year of house arrest. This is already quite lenient."
Rune, who had been cautiously observing, sighed deeply and nodded.
Thinking he would have to behave for a while, Rune glanced at the Dullahan.
The dark green soul flickered like eyes and slowly turned toward Rune.
Their gazes met, and Rune secretly smiled at Christina.
The spectral knight couldn't smile but silently blinked his green light.
"Fortunately, it seems to have a sense of loyalty. However, in a lair imbued with the power of light, your new subordinate cannot move freely. What do you plan to do?"
Crossing her arms, she asked, and Rune mentioned the method he had thought of.
"I plan to keep this one in the Black Room for now."
Apart from personal feelings, he couldn't let the Dullahan, who was once a Demon King's knight, wander freely in Christina's lair.
From the perspective of a dragon who had fought a great war against demons, it would feel like letting an enemy's child roam freely.
It was absolutely unacceptable.
However, the <Black Room> was the only place in Christina's lair where thick darkness magic permeated.
It was also where the treasures of the Black Dragon and black magic stones remained.
Having a knight to guard this place was a very good thing.
Moreover, this dark place was perfect for the Dullahan to stay.
Christina, finding Rune's answer appropriate, nodded and uncrossed her arms.
"Alright, that's a good idea. Since it's your subordinate, you can summon it when needed."
Then, she still frowned and looked at the Dullahan.
"Rune, I want to confirm if it's okay to leave this here, just in case. Is that alright?"
A gentle light swirled in Christina's blue eyes.
The Dullahan, receiving her gaze, creaked and shifted uncomfortably.
"Fire magic... and this life force, you used the power of the White Night as a medium."
Rune nodded, and Christina, nodding in return, focused her gaze more calmly.
The Dullahan, looking uncomfortable, turned his head away, but Christina's eyes shone as if they could see through everything.
Rune clenched his fist and silently cheered him on.
"You've revived the body of the Dullahan, but its core is the soul of a great human... Yes, that's why it could fuse with the phoenix feather."
Even in the midst of being scolded, Rune perked up his ears at the interesting analysis.
"Though it has a wicked body, its spirit is that of a powerful being. On the contrary, the phoenix's power has purified the soul that was being corrupted."
Her furrowed brows relaxed, and the anger in her voice gradually subsided.
Although the body was that of a cursed spectral knight, its spirit was refined to a degree that even the Elder of the Gold Dragons would admire.
Christina, having finished her analysis, nodded.
"His heart, which would have been as cold as ice, is now burning hotter than anyone else's. He is grateful to you. A soul that has received your grace will follow you loyally."
Rune's red eyes sparkled.
It was a surprising and unexpected gain.
"...No matter how young, you are a Black Dragon. Indeed."
Rune looked up with a questioning gaze.
Christina, who had been looking at him, had a wistful expression.
As if recalling a distant past.
"Black Dragons are a clan that governs darkness. They move silently in the darkness, providing salvation to those who are broken and wounded, and to those who fought bravely but were defeated."
"Strange. It seems as if they were born to do this."
Christina's gaze, as she spoke, looked both sad and nostalgic.
The sad expression vanished, and she smiled as if proud and patted Rune's head.
"Be proud, Rune. No matter what anyone says, you are an excellent Black Dragon."
Her deep eyes were filled with a profound longing that Rune couldn't fully grasp.
The aftermath was not as severe as Rune had expected.
Although he had to endure a year of house arrest and the Dullahan not being able to move freely within the lair, it wasn't as bad as he had feared.
There was a warning not to do anything reckless again, but in reality, it wasn't much different from before.
Taking a deep breath, Rune was walking through the passage to Amelia using a duplicate <Magic Key>.
The Dullahan was by his side.
'I need to introduce him to Amelia so she's not scared of him.'
Recently, Amelia had shown much more courage and spirit than before.
However, the Dullahan's appearance was not one that would easily win her favor.
Stopping at the boundary of the water, Rune hesitated for a moment.
Then, he glanced at the Dullahan and looked forward again.
In the depths of the ocean.
As Rune entered, Amelia approached as if she had been waiting.
The mermaid, about to greet him, stopped in her tracks when she saw a black mass behind Rune, not the White Night.
In the dark, the green eyes of the Dullahan flickered.
Amelia immediately hid behind a rock and peeked out cautiously.
Rune, looking at her, pointed to the Dullahan with his paw.
"It's my knight. His name is Dullahan."
Amelia poked her head out a bit more.
Then, feeling scared, she retreated behind the rock again.
"Yes. Although it was born only a day ago."
The mermaid poked her head out again.
Rune smiled and tapped Dullahan's armor with his paw.
"I'll be training with this one from now on."
Amelia and Dullahan both looked at Rune in surprise.
Rune, responding to their gazes, nodded calmly.
Amelia, holding her spear and unsure what to do, and Dullahan, silently blinking his green light.
In the depths of the ocean, no matter how much noise they made, there was no risk of casualties.