After months away, Annan finally lay down in his own bed.
He was just drifting off when Lily leaped in through the window with a cry and sprawled beside his pillow.
He had no choice but to call the maid, Abby, to carry Lily away before he could go back to sleep.
Scalding magma that set his nerves on edge filled his vision.
Annan had entered the Dream Realm. He looked up at the vast Flame Phantom rising slowly from the Lava Lake.
Magma poured from its body like a waterfall, and a savage, terrifying power filled the air.
"Demon Lord, I've reached High Mountain City. That damned Legendary Red Dragon Sorcerer is right ahead. I need the Treasure you promised me to kill your enemy!" Annan called, getting straight to the point.
"I shall give thee nothing," the Demon Lord refused. "If thou bring out my Treasure, it will know I am behind this..."
"Do you still intend to hide behind the scenes? I mean... stay in the shadows?" Annan pressed. "That Demon Lord is your enemy, but that's fine. We can work together, cut down its lackeys one by one, then join forces to finish it off!"
Annan's thinking was simple: if the Demon Lord wanted to drag him into this, he would drag the Demon Lord in with him.
The Flame Phantom stared at the tiny human on the shore as if he were a crab holding up its claws and threatening to pinch a human to death.
"Thou?"
"Your Lordship, you've watched Free City develop. We may not be capable of it now, but what about in ten years? A hundred? A thousand? Don't underestimate the ingenuity of these insignificant Short-lived Races... To a Demon Lord, a few centuries must be no more than the