Chapter 66: Meeting Again

“Did you really eat it all? Spit it out!”

Pampas hadn’t even figured out what was happening when a churning sensation hit his stomach.

Nausea surged to his brain, followed by a total loss of strength.

With a *thud*, he collapsed to the ground.

Though he remained conscious, his body lacked any strength.

‘These are a real headache,’ Qiaolin thought, feeling a wave of embarrassment.

The symptoms were exactly the same as when the others in his old party ate his cooking.

It was as if this were some fixed, unchangeable setting.

Left with no choice, Qiaolin used “Holy Word of the Earth” to clear the abnormal status.

In reality, it wasn’t an issue with the ingredients.

The food was still in Pampas’s stomach; if it were toxic, he would have remained in a bad state.

Thus, Qiaolin had long since concluded that this was a special setting tied to his status as the “Celestial Hero.”

It really was quite bizarre.

He had long since adapted to the effect himself.

After all these years, Gabriela was still the only one who could eat his meals normally.

When Pampas recovered, the look he gave Qiaolin was tinged with fear.

“Sorry about that, Mr… Pampas?”

Qiaolin said, remembering his name with an apologetic look.

After that brief interlude, Qiaolin seriously asked Fafna about her purpose for coming to the Demon King’s Castle.

She stated that she had indeed received orders from the Black Dragon Emperor to discuss a very important matter with the Demon Race.

When Qiaolin pressed further, Fafna just smiled and kept him in suspense, saying it would be revealed naturally once they saw Gabriela.

‘You girls really love being unpredictable,’ Qiaolin complained inwardly.

Qiaolin then suggested he lead the two of them to see Gabriela.

They had just fought a battle yesterday; how could they not reconcile?

Fafna happily agreed.

It seemed she was both happy and surprised by Qiaolin’s presence at the Demon King’s Castle.

Watching Qiaolin pack seven or eight sandwiches, Fafna said, “You aren’t bringing those for that Gabriela person, are you?”

“Of course I am. Since you guys won’t eat them anyway… ah, it’s hard to find a kindred spirit,” Qiaolin said with a wry smile, then reached out his hand.

“Take my hand, Fafna.”

“Eh?”

Though she didn’t know what Qiaolin was doing, she gladly accepted since it involved holding hands.

“Mr. Pampas, you too?”

Qiaolin extended his other hand.

This gave Pampas a fright, especially when Fafna shot him a vicious look that seemed to say, “Don’t you dare!”

“What are you doing?”

“Teleportation magic. You just need to touch me.”

Qiaolin sighed.

Once Pampas reluctantly placed his palm on his shoulder, “Folding Warp” activated.

The three of them were instantly transported to the Demon King’s Palace.

*Whoosh —*

Fafna felt the scenery before her eyes shift abruptly.

She saw the throne atop the stairs, where a blonde girl in dark, ornate clothing sat straight, reading a scroll intently.

Sensing the arrival of several presences, she cast the scroll aside, her eyes looking down at the one human and two dragons below.

Her gaze first landed on the black-haired young man.

“Qiaolin?!”

She cried out in reflexive surprise and joy.

Her brow relaxed and the corners of her mouth lifted, like a shy flower bud blooming in the morning.

However, when she saw the little Black Dragon girl beside Qiaolin, her expression darkened instantly.

*Boom —*

The red and black Magic Power of Gluttony erupted from the throne, surging toward Fafna like a tsunami.

Pampas, standing nearby, naturally felt the pressure as well.

Even though they were both King Rank, their Magic Power was on completely different levels!

Pampas stumbled to one knee. Fafna stepped forward, acting like a wall to block all the pressure.

To have her subordinate bullied like this was a direct slap to her face as a master.

“You dragons below have quite the nerve to barge into my palace!”

“Heh, I’d like to see what right you have as a Demon King to act so high and mighty before this Empress. I was just looking to settle yesterday’s score anyway!”

Just as Fafna was about to erupt with Magic Power to retaliate, the white Fafna clearly disagreed.

‘Don’t be so stubborn. We really are here on a mission. Let’s not make things unpleasant for both sides!’

‘I know that, but don’t withdraw your power! Let me teach her a lesson first, then we can talk business!’

Only when the two wills inside Fafna’s body were highly unified could she exert true Saint Rank power.

If separated, she had at most the strength of the peak King Rank.

‘But Brother Qiaolin is right there. Please don’t make it difficult for him.’

When the white Fafna mentioned him, she bit her lip, reluctantly letting go of her plan to get back at Gabriela.

“Ouch!”

Just then, a cry of pain came from the throne as that terrifying Magic Power instantly vanished.

Without anyone noticing, Qiaolin had gone up and delivered a hand-chop to Gabriela’s head.

Faint smoke rose from her blonde hair; the blow looked quite heavy.

“Since they are guests, you should receive them properly.”

“I was just saying hello.”

Gabriela pouted.

Below, Pampas looked up and witnessed the scene.

‘What is going on? That’s the Demon King! A person whose mere release of Magic Power almost made me wet myself, yet this human can just hit her?!’

“Pampas…”

“Uh, I’m here.”

Fafna said coldly, “Everything you see from now on… including this morning’s events… you are not to leak a single word. Otherwise…”

The Black Dragon girl bared her sharp teeth, and a chill crawled up Pampas’s spine to the back of his head.

“I’ll kill you!”

“Understood!”

Pampas immediately stood at attention.

In terms of execution, he always satisfied Fafna.

“Fafna came here to find you because she said there’s something important.”

“Hmph, let her say it herself,” Gabriela said, turning her head away.

Qiaolin scratched his head helplessly.

Fafna scanned the surroundings.

It wasn’t yet time for the attendants to start their shifts; even Gabriela had only woken up early to sit and read the Demon King’s Castle newspapers.

“It’s inconvenient here. Can we speak further in private, Your Majesty?”

“Fine. As Princess Fafna says.”

Gabriela smiled with interest.

“Then let’s go to my study and have a good chat.”

As she spoke, she flicked her finger, and a red-black crack opened beside her.

She pulled Qiaolin inside, and the two of them vanished into the rift together.

“Don’t let me and Mr. Qiaolin wait too long, Princess Fafna~”

Only that mocking sentence was left echoing in the hall.

Pampas blinked.

He watched Fafna’s shoulders tremble slightly and couldn’t help but swallow hard.

The next moment, the Black Dragon girl’s roar echoed through the Demon King’s Palace.

“Gabriela—!”