The System's notification sounded in Caesar's mind.
Immediately following.
"Buzz—"
In an instant.
The originally dark and gloomy underground cave was lit up as if a flashbang had been detonated.
A rainbow-colored halo exploded outward with Cecilia at the center!
The few evil spirits clutching Caesar didn't even let out a scream before they melted away like snowflakes in that light.
The dense army of undead behind them looked as if they had seen the most terrifying thing imaginable.
They let out shrieks of extreme terror, desperately burrowing into the surrounding rock walls and hiding in dark crevices.
Those that were slow became transparent under the light's radiance and eventually dissipated completely.
Even the fungal carpet on the ground sizzled when hit by the light, withering rapidly as if doused in concentrated sulfuric acid.
Ten seconds later.
The light dissipated.
The entire world became quiet.
"..."
Caesar watched all of this dumbfounded, his dragon maw hanging wide open.
Oh my latios!
[Luster Purge]?!
"Holy crap..." He turned his head to look at Cecilia, who was still wildly waving her claws with her eyes closed.
"Stop waving, the monsters are all gone."
Cecilia stopped her movements and cautiously opened one eye.
She looked around.
"Eh?"
She blinked and looked up somewhat blankly.
Those scary Ghost things... were all gone?
The great Lady Cecilia... finished them all off?
In her eyes, which still held traces of tears, the light known as "pride" lit up once again.
She stood up unsteadily; though her legs were still shaking, her chin was already held high.
"Hmph, a bunch of rabble, daring to act presumptuously before a True Dragon!"
The Little Silver Dragon flicked her tail, her face wearing a "just as I expected" expression.
Caesar ignored her unconvincing posturing.
His mind was frantically recalling the Move from just now.
That light... that effect... and the System's prompt.
There was absolutely no mistake.
That was a pokémon Move—[Luster Purge].
A Psychic-type skill with a power of 95, and its effect is a 50% chance to lower the opponent's Special Defense.
But in the game settings, it was latios's signature Move.
Furthermore, Psychic-types shouldn't have a super-effective effect against Ghost-types by logic.
Whether it was modified into a traditional RPG's "Holy Light" or was simply a case of overwhelming power... in any case, against these undead made of negative energy, it was a total dimensional strike.
His little companion actually had this trick up her sleeve?
"How did you learn this Move?" Caesar's gaze was burning.
Cecilia felt a bit creeped out by his gaze and shrunk her neck.
"I... it just popped into my head just now... it seems to be something from my Legacy memories."
She scratched her round head.
"This... this is a 'Secret Art' from the Legacy memories? As for the name... I haven't thought of one yet, let's call it 'Cecilia's Light of Holy Judgment'."
"Secret Art?" Caesar leaned in and asked curiously, "What is that?"
"It's... it's very ancient and powerful Draconic Magic..." Cecilia explained somewhat weakly, "It's said that every race has its own inherited ancient 'Secret Arts', and our Dragon Clan's Draconic Magic contains the largest part of them..."
Secret Art?
Caesar now had an idea.
It seemed that the so-called "Secret Arts" of this world were very likely pokémon skills that hadn't been popularized here.
And this silly Little Silver Dragon was actually a Psychic-type special attacker?
Seeing Caesar's strange look, Cecilia felt a bit guilty.
"W-why are you looking at me like that? Are you impressed by my strength? Hmph, as long as you obediently offer that mushroom soup from now on, I might consider looking after you..."
"After all, certain Earth Dragons who only know brute force are still quite useless at critical moments—"
Looking at this little female dragon whose tail was about to point to the sky, Caesar didn't get angry; instead, he revealed a meaningful smile.
Good.
He was just worrying about how to grind this new map, and now a humanoid walking flashlight had been delivered?
He immediately put on an expression of shock mixed with three parts admiration and approached her.
"Amazing! Too amazing! As expected of the noble Silver Dragon!"
"Eh?" Cecilia was a bit dazed by this sudden flattery.
"That Move just now was simply too cool! Those disgusting undead were like dust before you!"
As Caesar spoke, he observed the path ahead.
With so many undead here, this was clearly an Ancient Tomb area.
If they tried to force their way through, they would definitely be annoyed to death by those physically immune undead.
But things were different now.
He had a humanoid walking flashlight.
"That... that's natural!" Cecilia's tail was almost pointing to the sky.
*Cough cough*, well, the path ahead seems even darker, and there are more of those dirty things."
Caesar pointed toward the deep, dark passage ahead.
"If those dirty things were to touch your noble scales, it would be a total desecration!"
"So..."
Caesar revealed his true intentions.
"Could Lady Cecilia please display that Divine Might once more to clear the path for this humble one?"
Cecilia blanked for a moment.
Although she felt something was off, the Little Earth Dragon's words were just too pleasant to hear.
Since meeting this bully of an Earth Dragon, when had she ever received such treatment?
Her vanity swelled to the extreme at this moment.
"Since you've requested so sincerely..."
Cecilia raised her chin, trying hard to put on a magnanimous front.
"Then I shall reluctantly help you clear away the trash again!"
...Half an hour later.
"I can't go on... really, not a single drop left..."
Cecilia slumped on the ground, her tongue hanging out.
Along this path, she had been coaxed by Caesar into using [Luster Purge] at least five or six times.
While the Move was powerful, its consumption was also huge.
She now felt completely hollowed out, without even the strength to Move a single claw.
"Just hold on a bit longer, we're almost there."
As Caesar spoke, he greedily took a deep breath.
When Cecilia was clearing the area earlier, the energy left behind after the undead dissipated hadn't completely vanished.
Especially that unique chilly aura—the 'Ghost' attribute factor.
Although these Ghost attributes were very weak and the experience absorption efficiency was extremely low.
But even mosquito legs are still meat.
Moreover, these purified factors were particularly pure, with no side effects at all when absorbed.
The kindness of Young Miss Silver Dragon can never be fully repaid!
"Hmm? What are you doing?"
Cecilia turned back weakly, finding the Little Earth Dragon with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths with an enjoying expression like a pervert.
"Ah? Nothing." Caesar immediately opened his eyes, looking upright, "I'm sensing the residual divine aura from your Move just now, trying to purify this filthy Earth Dragon heart of mine."
Cecilia looked at him suspiciously, but didn't think much of it; after all, this explanation fit her worldview perfectly.
The two dragons traveled in bursts like this, not knowing how much time had passed.
The surrounding environment began to change.
On the originally natural crystal rock walls, traces of manual excavation began to appear. The path underfoot became level, even paved with large bluestone slabs. On the rock walls on both sides, there were various niches at intervals, containing long-rotted armor and weapons.
The air became even colder, even carrying a stale, musty smell.
"This place... seems to be a ruin?" Caesar stopped his steps, looking at two huge, half-collapsed stone pillars ahead.
The pillars were carved with some blurred reliefs, looking like some kind of giant creature devouring heaven and earth.
—"I can't do it, I can't do it, I can't do it..."
Cecilia finally lay flat on the ground and started to slack off.
"I'm tired! And I'm hungry! I want mushroom soup... if there's nothing to eat, you go on by yourself, I'm going to starve to death here anyway!"
Caesar was somewhat speechless.
Where was he supposed to find mushrooms for her in this place?
There were plenty of those fungal infected beings just now, but a soup boiled from those things would probably turn her directly into a zombie.
"Shh—"
Caesar suddenly raised a claw, making a gesture for silence.
The fin-like protrusions on both sides of his ears vibrated slightly.
The sonar fed back some strange sounds.
Just around the corner ahead.
There was the sound of fighting.
And... that sound... "Guji! Guji!"
The sound was like stepping on soft mud, or like two pieces of wet meat rubbing together.
Too familiar.
Caesar's gaze instantly became sharp.
He grabbed Cecilia's tail from the ground and, regardless of whether she was willing or not, tucked her under his arm and crept over soundlessly.
Rounding a huge crystal rock wall.
The scene before him almost made Caesar laugh out loud.
In a wide tomb hall ahead, hundreds of red and white figures with mushroom caps on their heads, holding various jars and pots, were forming a tight military formation, frantically besieging a massive back!
And at the edge of the battlefield stood several commanders who were clearly a size larger.
A group of brightly colored large mushrooms were chirping and giving orders—
This wretched aura.
This insidious tactic.
Even on a different map, Caesar could recognize them at a glance.
"Amoonguss!!"
Dragons really do meet in the most unexpected places.
Back in the swamp, he hadn't had his fill of fighting before letting these grandsons escape.
Who would have thought they'd come underground to open a branch base?
Caesar looked at the group of mushrooms, the smile on the corners of his mouth gradually becoming perverted.
Myconid, these are old friends indeed!
...Friends, you're delicious!