Chapter 177: The Elite in the Demonic Throne Room

The flight at extreme speed continued for only a couple of seconds more. In plain sight, high up on the imposing and dark architectural structure of the castle, a wide stone balcony jutted out, connecting directly to the top floor.

In mid-flight, at an exact distance of fifteen meters from their target, the green dragon’s colossal body began to glow intensely and abruptly reverted to its humanoid form.

"I cannot enter through there in this form," Ivis said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as they both fell due to the inertia of their aerial momentum. "Don’t go falling and dying on me."

With the massive and stable back of the dragon disappearing, she and Ryan were abruptly separated. They remained suspended together just a couple of meters apart in the air, with the dragoness falling slightly below Ryan’s position.

"So you are capable of joking?" Ryan asked with complete tranquility, maintaining a perfectly aerodynamic posture during the free fall, without showing the slightest alteration in his heart rate in the face of the void.

"What do you mean? I was just in a very bad mood earlier because I was attacked the second I crossed the portal," she retorted while the balcony rapidly approached.

"I am sorry for your bad experience visiting us," Ryan commented in a calm manner.

"Don’t be sorry. Perhaps you will experience the exact same thing in this place," she said with a markedly sarcastic tone and a half smile.

’Perhaps. After all, I am delving right into demon territory.’

Ivis landed on the balcony first. Her boots touched the ground with impeccable agility, and she immediately walked forward without stopping.

Then Ryan landed. The soles of his boots echoed with a dull thud against the smooth white floor.

The landing zone was illuminated by the light filtering in from the outside and outlined by an impeccable path made of a dark red carpet.

He continued walking with his hands stuffed into his trench coat pockets, staying a few steps behind Ivis.

They crossed an immense, finely arched double door, and the main hall of the castle unfurled before their sight.

The floor was supremely elegant, polished to the extreme, combined with a two-color geometric pattern: black and white.

The hall was astonishingly vast and clean. Several thick columns, with sculpted figures of beasts protruding from their stone structure, supported the high ceiling.

The grand hall had no windows; it was strategically illuminated by twelve pedestal lamps that burned with a strange, purple magical fire, generating a bright yet unsettling contrast throughout the entire place.

As he kept walking through the middle of the hall, Ryan continued his analysis.

The long red carpet crossed the entire room until it connected with a wide staircase of exactly five steps.

Above it, a flat platform of at least two square meters rose up, and resting in its exact center was an imposing throne.

And sitting upon that throne was a female figure. Her white hair cascaded over her shoulders, and a pair of enormous demonic horns sprouted from her head.

She wore a dark, ostentatious, and extremely elegant dress, designed with a cut that made absolutely no attempt to hide the beautiful figure of the woman wearing it.

’Ophelia... she has a much denser and more imposing magical aura here than when she visited us in the dungeon.’ Ryan thought to himself as he continued to advance at a steady pace through the middle of the hall, feeling the atmospheric pressure clash against his own aura.

’This entire place... it is far too clean and elegant, very different from what I would expect from a demon base.’

But Ryan’s calculating mind did not focus solely on the queen. His eyes immediately evaluated the defensive lines arranged all around the main platform.

Right below the platform where Ophelia sat, two demons stood, one on each side of the staircase. Ryan inspected them quickly, measuring their stats.

’Abyssals... I knew this hierarchical rank class existed, but this is the first time I have seen them in person. Their danger level is... SS.’

And a few meters away from the two Abyssals, forming a second perimeter on the sides of the red carpet, four more demons were stationed.

’Infernals.’

Ivis stopped just past the center of the hall, remaining on the red carpet. Ryan halted his advance and stopped exactly by her side, projecting absolute indifference in the face of enemy numbers.

’So, I am literally standing before the Demon Queen’s combat elite, aren’t I? She is very well guarded.’

"Forgive my delay, my lady. I had some unforeseen complications while trying to return..." Ivis said.

The fierce dragoness, who moments ago had threatened to carbonize his party, bowed in her position with a deep and genuine reverence of submission toward the Demon Queen.

Ophelia did not respond.

She remained seated in silence, observing both visitors with a calculating scrutiny.

She sat with her legs crossed. Leaning slightly toward the left armrest of her throne, with her elbow planted on the wood and the back of her pale hand supporting her face in a posture of evident boredom.

Upon seeing that their lady was not speaking, one of the demons intervened.

"You are late, Ivis. It is not at all common for you to be so incompetent at such a simple task," one of the Abyssal demons replied with a raspy voice full of arrogance.

Ivis did not look up or respond to the insult, but Ryan clearly saw how the dragoness clenched her right fist tightly, repressing her fury.

"Is that scrawny human right there the infamous one the rumors talk so much about? He is much smaller than I thought." One of the Infernal rank demons said, slightly breaking ranks to point at Ryan.

"I had heard rumors that he was some massive, brutal guy carrying a gigantic demonic boomerang. What a complete disappointment," seconded the Infernal standing right next to the one who had spoken first.

Both demons appeared to be exact twins; one was female and the other male, and they shared the exact same deep blue hair and the same mocking smile.

"Well, I don’t believe for a second that this human is any big deal," responded the first Abyssal demon who had provoked Ivis.

From one second to the next, the Abyssal’s dense mana signature fluctuated aggressively. He disappeared from his spot next to the stairs. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

And in an instant he reappeared about two meters away from Ryan, glaring down at him with eyes injected with a clear and hostile challenge.