Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods-Chapter 88: The Ghost in the Boss Room

A giant aquatic beast with a long body covered in blue scales and fins thrashed in the air, crackling with lightning.

Its fanged mouth opened one last time before it fell limp, splashing into the floating river it had emerged from.

Sparks still danced across its body.

Bel stood farther away, his arm still raised, lightning crackling between his fingers.

He waited.

His eyes scanned the misty dungeon, searching beyond the drifting water streams and floating coral islands.

Nothing.

"Finally," he muttered, lowering his hand.

He set his hands on his hips and took a deep breath.

[HP: 7,320 / 7,500][MP: 1,080 / 12,000][Stamina: 6,720 / 7,500]

"That took longer than I thought," Bel admitted, looking down at his hands. "These things probably had resistance to paralysis. Or maybe..."

He smirked.

"Maybe I was too stubborn. I should have tried ice too."

He opened his system screen and checked his current gold.

[Gold: 14,672]

He whistled.

"At least there’s this. There were more monsters here than in the previous dungeon."

His finger slid to the shop tab.

[SHOP]

[Leviathan Scale Cloak (Epic)] – 4,500 GoldEffect: Grants +40% water resistance and +25% agility when in aquatic environments. Provides a 20% chance to resist [Soaked] status effects. Automatically forms a bubble of breathable air around the wearer when submerged.

[Coral Pike (Rare+)] – 3,200 Gold+58 ATKEffect: Each hit has a 25% chance to reduce the target’s defense by 10% and a 30% chance to inflict [Soaked] status for 5 seconds. [Soaked]: Lowers speed and evasion by 10%, increases damage taken from ice and electric sources by 20%.

[Wave Dancer Boots (Rare)] – 2,400 GoldEffect: Movement speed increases by 30% when standing on or near water. Reduces fall damage significantly.

[Ocean Rune (Rare)] – 2,000 GoldEffect: Permanently increases resistance to water magic by 25% and boosts regeneration speed by 15% when in wet or rainy conditions.

Bel tapped his chin as he looked over the list. Then, with a grin, he began selecting his purchases.

[Purchase Confirmed: Leviathan Scale Cloak – 4,500 Gold][Purchase Confirmed: Coral Pike – 3,200 Gold][Purchase Confirmed: Wave Dancer Boots – 2,400 Gold][Purchase Confirmed: Ocean Rune – 2,000 Gold]

[Gold Remaining: 2,572]

The cloak shimmered briefly before vanishing, its effect activating instantly.

The boots adjusted over his feet, and the rune dissolved into his chest in a blue glow, releasing a surge of magic.

His intelligence, wisdom , and mana increased instantly, and even his perception sharpened. The pike however vanished into storage.

Bel opened his stats again to see the updates.

[Water Resistance: +65%][Agility (Aquatic Environments): +25%][Soaked Resistance: +20%][Regeneration Rate (Wet Conditions): +15%]

"Perfect," he said, flexing his fingers. "Let’s see how useless water attacks are now."

He looked toward the deeper part of the dungeon.

In a deep winding forest path, another rift was open, and inside, New Horizons were halfway through a Category D dungeon.

The monsters they faced were beast-like creatures: lizard boars, stone-toothed wolves, and long-tailed rats.

They fought as a unit, shouting commands, covering each other, and pushing forward with grit.

Airi acted as a support attacker, for now observing the party’s style to adapt.

Ronan and Arkel rotated between tanking and punishing blows, Crest fought alongside the vanguard, and Lyraen and Cassandra stood in the back, the first hands glowing, always chanting to her small floating fairy to heal or bless, the second casting magic attacks.

It wasn’t easy. Everyone took scratches, burns, or a bruise or two, except Airi, but globally it went well.

Eventually, they reached a wide chamber just before the boss room. The ceiling was high, vines curling above and dripping cold moisture.

They all dropped to sit, breathe, and prepare.

Lyraen, unlike the others, stayed standing. Her voice murmured a steady chant, her eyes half-closed.

Her fairy glowed faintly, moving from teammate to teammate, refreshing stamina and lightly healing.

Airi observed silently, arms crossed. She tilted her head.

"Yup. You’re the most useful person here," she finally said.

The others looked up.

"Huh?" Crest blinked.

Ronan gave a small laugh.

"Yeah, she’s always looking out for us."

"Hmm," Arkel added, nodding. "Lyraen’s kind of our pillar. A fourth leader, you might say."

Airi crossed her arms, a smirk on her lips.

"So she’s your MVP. Makes sense. Compared to her, the rest of you are just... well, decoration. I mean, look at the healing, the buffs, the multitasking. She’s doing everything, while you three swing your weapons around hoping for the best."

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

"Hey now, we’re doing our part. It’s teamwork."

"Yeah," Arkel added. "Lyraen supports us so we can keep the pressure on. That’s how a balanced party works."

Airi didn’t back down.

"Sure, sure. But let’s face it—if she stopped moving, you’d all drop like flies. I’m just saying, the group could manage without any of you, but if Lyraen vanished... that’d be a wipeout."

The silence that followed was heavier.

Then Lyraen’s chant faltered. Her gaze lifted briefly toward Airi, and she spoke in a flat tone.

"That’s the minimum a lazy ass with this much experience should know."

Everyone blinked.

"Wait... huh?" Airi tilted her head.

Lyraen’s voice was calm, but firm.

"You keep praising me like I’m something special. Don’t. I’m not doing this because I’m passionate. I’m doing this because someone has to, and I’m the experienced enough to do it here, but not strong enough to do it in higher dungeons."

Airi looked surprised, even a little amused.

"So what? I know it’s not like the world best. I’m only saying that you’re better than the others, here."

Lyraen gave her an annoyed glance then rolled her eyes.

"If Bel was here, I wouldn’t even lift a finger."

The mood shifted. Lyraen resumed her chant, but everyone else exchanged glances.

Ronan shifted in place and cleared his throat, avoiding Lyraen’s gaze. His hand rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

"We really don’t need to go there, Lyraen... This setup is good for us. Everyone’s doing their best."

Arkel frowned.

"Yeah, we’re doing fine without him." Arkel added. "And the team’s finally working like a team."

Lyraen’s lips pressed together. Her chant stopped completely now.

Crest, trying to be helpful, stepped in.

"We all want to get better, right? It’s not about replacing anyone--"

"Could you defeat a demon lord?"

Lyraen’s voice was quiet but cut through the air like a blade.

Everyone stopped.

Crest blinked.

"What?"

"You heard me," Lyraen said. "A demon lord. Could you kill it? Are you confident in your ability to defeat one?"

None of them answered.

She looked over them with a tired, sharp stare.

"Thought so," she said. "When I asked Bel that same question, he said ’If I have time to prepare, one hundred percent.’"

Her eyes turned to her fairy again, resuming her chant.

"This isn’t some story where we all grow together and laugh by a campfire. It’s a war. And you all threw away the best potential you’ve ever seen."

Everyone went quiet.

The mood dropped like a stone. Tension hung thick in the cave.

Then Airi sighed loudly and stood up, cracking her neck.

"Your best potential, huh?" she muttered. "You sure about that?"

Lyraen didn’t answer.

Airi, hands on hips, raised her voice.

"Alright, fine. Maybe you’re right. Maybe that guy is a crazy genius. But guess what? So am I. And if it’s a competition... then I’ll give you exactly what you want."

Everyone stared at her.

Airi smirked, tapping her sword’s hilt.

"Let me solo the boss. I’ll show you what a real genius looks like."

Visit freewe𝑏(n)ovel.co(m) for the b𝘦st novel reading experience