❤❤❤
AFTER making it back to the entrance, they took some time to reassess the situation.
“We’ve got all three keys,” Alice said. “Now, all that’s left is to walk straight ahead till we run into the Demon Lord’s right-hand man. Once we’re done with him, a group of monsters will be waiting for us outside the throne room.”
“The explosions’ll lure them away from the entrance, problem solved,” Hatta said. “What does worry me is this right-hand man, although, judging by how all of our previous boss fights went, it’s probably not going to be as straightforward as I’d like.”
As Hatta accurately pointed out, they had not, in fact, had a single “normal” boss fight yet.
Please let there be no silly hijinks this time, Hatta thought, heaving a heavy sigh.
“Not to downplay the threat posed by this supposed right-hand man,” Seb chimed in, “but we’ll also need to proceed with extra caution. If we don’t quickly dispose of any monsters in our path, they’ll no doubt call in reinforcements, my lady.”
“That’s precisely why I’ve been ignoring him all this time.”
“Ignoring who, exactly?”
“Observe.” Alice walked over to a nearby wall and casually grabbed Cheshire out of the air.
“How’d you find me?! Do you have a sixth sense or something?!”
“I could feel your presence ever since we got here. I know you handed the White Rabbit over to the Mock Turtle and fed him a bunch of lies specifically so you could get a laugh over the ensuing chaos. Don’t even try to hide it. The only reason I’ve been ignoring you up until now is because I had a feeling you might come in handy later.”
How did a sheltered princess develop a sixth sense, you may ask? Nobody knew, not even her friends.
“If you choose to cooperate,” Alice continued, “I’ll let this one slide. If not, well, let’s just say you’ll regret that choice for the rest of your life.”
“Okay, okay, now quit glaring. Also, not a word of this to the Demon Lord, got it?” Cheshire waved his hand, enveloping them in a strange black smoke.
“It’s just like that time back in the Land of Cards,” Alice remarked.
“You’re good up to the halfway point. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Where do you think you’re going?” Alice said threateningly. “We’ll need you to lift the veil.”
“I was hoping you’d forget.”
The five made their way forward. They eventually arrived at a huge door, running right past any and all monsters in their path. Cheshire looked around to see if the coast was clear, then he lifted the veil.
“You’ll need to get through him if you want to reach the throne room.”
“What do you mean you? You’re coming with us too.”
“W-Wait! You don’t know what you’re—!”
Alice ignored Cheshire’s protests, dragging him inside with them. Little did she know that there was a little surprise waiting for them.
“Is that what I think it is?”
That little surprise being a large, yawning dragon.
“He wakes up and activates his domain the moment a human sets foot inside.”
Hatta and Haigha frantically whipped their heads back, only to find that the door behind them had vanished.
“Is it anything like the Dormouse’s domain?” asked Alice.
“It’s nothing like that,” Cheshire said. “It is a lot like getting sucked inside one of my dimensions, though. What’s inside stays inside, but what’s outside can still come inside.”
“Good to know, although I can’t imagine it’s going to help much, seeing as we’re all stuck inside anyway. Now, how do we get rid of it?”
“You’ll have to either put the dragon to sleep or make it pass out.”
It appeared as though they’d actually have to fight for once. And what a fight they were in for, judging by how unusually hard Onion Boy was shivering.
“Guess we have no other option but to fight. Although, I must ask,” Alice started, “why so nervous, Cheshire? He’s not going to attack you. And, even if he does by some freak accident, you can just hop into a pocket dimension.”
“Let’s just say that living for thousands upon thousands of years did a number on his mind. He can’t distinguish between friend or foe, and he just so happens to be one of three anomalies dimension-hopping doesn’t work on, alongside you and the Demon Lord.”
“Rude. Anyway, think you can take him head on, Seb?”
“I highly doubt it.”
“What about you, Hatta?”
“I’m starting to get flashbacks to that time I almost got burnt to a crisp because of you.”
“Nostalgic, isn’t it?”
Their odds weren’t looking all that great, but, sadly, flight wasn’t an option. Seb unleashed his ice magic, and Hatta pelted him with daggers. Yet, they weren’t able to punch through his thick scales.
In retaliation, the dragon opened his mouth, breathing out a pillar of fire.
“Fire resistance now!”
“There!” Haigha came in at the clutch, allowing them to successfully weather the first hit.
And so, their fierce battle raged on.
“Where’d Alice go?”
Alice and Cheshire had suddenly vanished.
“Dragon scales sell for a pretty penny, you know,” the others heard her say to Cheshire.
“I’ll pass. Not gonna risk it.”
They were harvesting scales off the dragon’s back. Well, Alice was, anyway. The two were so light and posed so little of a threat, they didn’t even seem to register on his radar.
Truly the only thing fiercer than the dragon’s attacks was Alice’s desire to be up to no good.
“Do we just leave her up there or what?” Hatta asked.
“I’m sure Lady Alice can handle herself just fine. I’d be more worried about our position, quite frankly,” Seb responded dryly.
The dragon had unleashed his fiery breath upon them when suddenly, a certain someone wandered inside the room.
“Finally got away from that blasted Mock Turtle. Time to rest my weary bones.” It was none other than the White Rabbit himself. “H-Haigha?! Yippee!” he cheered with glee. “The thread of fate has brought us together yet again. What’s that? Look up? Well, if it isn’t Alice riding on a…d-d-dragon?!” He was out of there in a flash…or so he thought. “What the hell’s going on here, Hatta?!”
“We ain’t going nowhere ’til that dragon bites the dust!”
“Isn’t that great— Eep! Why me?”
The dragon now locked his sights on the White Rabbit, thinking he was food. Despite this unforeseen turn of events, Alice was still fully engaged in harvesting scales.