"Meow~!"

  Seemingly satisfied with Alice’s pets, the black cat stretched lazily and stood up.

  "What’s wrong, little cat? Had enough?"

  "Meow~!"

  The black cat nodded, then lifted its right paw and patted Arthur’s shoulder. It jumped off the wheelchair, glanced back at Arthur one last time, and slowly walked toward the academy......

  "The cat...... left."

  Alice said with a hint of regret.

  Arthur comforted her: "Alice, this is its home. We’ll have to part with it eventually. But don’t worry—once we solve your problem, we can come back anytime. We’ll say hello to it then."

  "Really, Brother Arthur?"

  "Of course. I believe that day will come......"

  On the other side,

  "Hey! You black cat, stop right there! Where do you think you’re going—come back!"

  "Miko, calm down. Let it go......"

  Miko and Alicia were still bickering.

  ......

  "Meow."

  In a wooden cabin deep in the woods,

  the golden-pupiled black cat jumped onto the windowsill.

  "Sphinger, you’re back."

  Grisa’s voice came from inside the cabin.

  "Meow~!"

  Sphinger turned into a wisp of shadow and instantly appeared at Grisa’s feet.

  Grisa looked down at it,

  then lifted her gaze to the window.

  "I see...... You went to see that boy off."

  "Meow......"

  "No need to worry. That boy is much more reliable than we think. No matter what difficulties he faces, he’ll surely overcome them......"

  ......

  "Ugh! What’s with that cat?! It’s fuming me mad!"

  "Alright alright, don’t be angry. It’s already gone far."

  "Hmph! If I see it again, I’ll teach it a lesson!"

  "Uh...... Never mind......"

  Alicia gave up trying to persuade her.

  Arthur, however, laughed.

  "Miko, I’d advise you not to fight it~. Don’t be fooled by its looks—it’s actually very strong."

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "What could a mere black cat do? I’ll knock it down when we meet!"

  As a white-haired catgirl, Miko seemed unwilling to back down to a black cat in terms of dignity, so she was unusually stubborn.

  Arthur could only smile helplessly.

  After laughing, he looked at the two one last time and said slowly:

  "It’s time for me to leave...... Miko, Princess Alicia, farewell for now. And...... when Hulim comes back, please pass on my goodbye to her."

  "Got it! Farewell, Arthur!"

  "We will, Senior Arthur."

  "Thank you...... I wonder how Hulim is doing now?"

  "She’ll be fine. She’s with someone very powerful."

  Alicia replied.

  "Yeah yeah!"

  Miko chimed in,

  "Maybe Hulim is having a leisurely stroll in the sun right now~!"

  "I see. Looks like my worry was unnecessary......"

  ......

  Meanwhile,

  in the Mountains of Myrnabyss,

  the real Hulim—whom Arthur and the others were talking about—was indeed "strolling" in the sun. But far from leisurely, she was running for her life.

  "Why is this happening——!!?"

  "Roar——!!!"

  A massive red dragon chased closely behind her. Its giant maw, big enough to swallow her ten times over, roared at her from time to time.

  "Charkin! What kind of Safe Zone is this——!!!"

  Boom!

  Another ruin building was crushed by the dragon.

  No matter how hard Hulim ran, the dragon always kept up. Even when she tried to shake it off using the complex ruin terrain, it would simply crush the buildings in its path to chase her.

  "It’s endless! What’s wrong with you?! Why are you targeting me!!!?"

  But no matter how loudly Hulim shouted, the dragon acted as if it couldn’t understand human language—responding only by snapping its jaws fiercely at her.

  Thankfully, though Hulim still couldn’t use magic, her physical fitness and reaction speed had returned to their former level. She managed to narrowly dodge the dragon’s attacks time and time again.

  "What’s wrong with this guy......"

  Wait a minute......

  Could it be here to avenge those Wyverns?

  No, that didn’t make sense.

  She’d never heard of dragons associating with Drakes—wasn’t it said that dragons looked down on Drakes the most?

  Besides, it had been a month already. If it was revenge, it was way too late!

  Hulim thought hard,

  but she couldn’t figure out why this Rank A dragon was suddenly targeting her.

  The worst part was that there was no way to communicate with it!

  She didn’t dare stop to question it. If she did and ended up being swallowed in one bite, it would be a huge loss......

  "Roar——!!!"

  And so, the chase continued—one person, one dragon, racing through the ruins, leaving chaos in their wake. Countless ancient buildings were destroyed beyond repair.

  Gradually, Hulim’s stamina was running out.

  "This is bad......"

  The more critical the situation, the calmer Hulim’s mind became.

  Her brain raced, thinking of ways to escape.

  But as one plan after another was ruled out, she still couldn’t find a way to survive.

  If the dragon was only Rank B, she could have lured it to the outer urban area, letting it fight with the Golems while she made her escape.

  But this dragon was Rank A!

  The Golems stood no chance of stopping it.

  Just like before—this dragon had easily broken through the outer area and entered the inner Safe Zone.

  "Wait...... Where am I?"

  While thinking of countermeasures, Hulim suddenly realized her surroundings had become unfamiliar.

  Though she was still inside the ruins, she had never been here before and didn’t know the terrain.

  And being unfamiliar with the terrain was fatal when running for your life!

  "Bad! I can’t go any deeper!"

  Hulim tried to change direction, fleeing toward a more familiar area.

  But——

  "Roar!!!"

  The dragon was chasing her too closely. She had no chance to run in any other direction!

  She could only keep venturing deeper into the unknown, her stamina dwindling to the last bit......

  Crack!

  At one moment while running,

  Hulim heard a strange sound under her feet. But the sound was quickly drowned out by the dragon’s roar, making it impossible for her to tell what had caused it.

  Thud! Thud! Thud......

  The dragon’s powerful hind legs trampled the ground as it ran. Each step felt like a small earthquake.

  Crack! Crack......

  Under the dragon’s trampling, the strange sound in the area became more and more obvious.

  And Hulim finally realized what it was.

  "Wait...... No way?"

  By the time she figured it out, it was already too late.

  Boom!

  A sense of weightlessness washed over her.

  Under the dragon’s trampling, the ground here collapsed.

  Hulim fell deep into the earth along with the ruin debris. As for the dragon—it flapped its wings and flew up just as it started to fall, avoiding the collapse.

  "That guy......"

  The light from above grew farther and farther away, and the dragon’s figure in the sky became smaller and smaller.

  Splash——!

  With a sound of falling water,

  Hulim’s figure disappeared into the dark depths of the earth.

  ......