My Girlfriends Are Hardcore Yanderes - Chapter 210

Chapter 210: The Key Out
THUD!

Asher landed heavily on the cracked ground. Immediately, a wave of heat hit him—unbearable and all-consuming, even for those with the strongest of bodies.

If not for the protective barrier encasing him and the artifacts from Index, he would’ve been reduced to ash in an instant.

Even now, the heat clawed at the edges of his protections, waiting to consume him entirely. He squinted forward, his gaze landing onto the landscape before him.

A sea of molten lava stretched endlessly, its surface churning and bubbling like a living organism. The hot orange glow illuminated the area, as if the world itself was ablaze.

Why was he here?

The answer was pretty complicated. It was layered with failure and frustration, all stemming from a single, unavoidable truth: he failed to escape this world. Just as the green dragon, Pantheon, had predicted.

It had warned him—warned him about the Wrath Dragon Mel and the binding restriction it imposed on this world.

He did his own research, digging through every scrap of knowledge he could find about the so-called restriction.

Luckily, taking the position of the new king saved him a lot of time, granting him access to valuable resources and information that would have otherwise taken much longer to uncover.

This volcano, massive and ever-active, wasn’t just a geographical feature. It was Mel’s prison and the center of an ancient magic circle that prevented teleporting out of this world.

As long as it stood, he couldn’t leave no matter how much he tried.

‘Patience,’ he muttered to himself. ‘I just need to finish this, then I can finally leave.’ He took a deep breath, steadying himself.

(Are you prepared, Traveler?) Pantheon’s words echoed in his mind. It was the name of the green dragon, and he had allowed it to communicate with him.

So far, Pantheon had been cooperative, and if not for its help, he would not have found this place so quickly.

“Yeah. But are you really sure I don’t need to fight it?” he asked, his voice tinged with doubt.

Fighting Julius was challenging, but an ancient dragon? That was a whole different level of danger.

According to the books he read, a dragon’s breath could singlehandedly destroy an entire city the size of Eryx.

While it was likely an exaggeration, it still showed just how powerful these ancient beings were.

The thought of facing one was not exactly exciting, but he knew there was no turning back now.

Pantheon’s voice, though distant, was calm as it responded.

(Do not worry. At this moment, Mel is but a shadow of its true power—weak in its core form. You must dive into the lava, cast the spell I taught you to shatter its consciousness, then absorb the core into your body. Only then will you become something greater… a half-dragon.)

(Once you become like us, forget about portals—your body alone will be able to withstand traveling between worlds.)

Asher frowned, trying to process everything. Pantheon gave him a lot of spells to study, and he didn’t see anything wrong with them.

In addition, becoming a half-dragon would undeniably make him far stronger.

In fact, one of the reasons he chose to cooperate was because he now possessed a spell capable of completely erasing Pantheon’s will if it ever tried to betray him.

But, despite the promise of power, doubt lingered in the back of his mind. There had to be something more to this, something he wasn’t seeing.

“And why didn’t you just ask Julius to do this before? I’m sure he was more than capable of withstanding this place.”

(It might not feel that hot right now, but the closer you get to the core, the higher the temperature will become, so not just anyone can reach it.)

“And you think I can do it?” he asked, growing more skeptical the more he listened.

Asher might have more potential than Julius, but during their battle, the Sorcerer King proved to be more powerful, knowledgeable, and experienced.

If Pantheon did not trust someone like him, what made Asher any different?

(You are not from this world, just as I am. That means we will face less resistance.)

Asher narrowed his eyes. “You could’ve led with that instead of going on about me being more superior.”

Pantheon paused for a moment.

(I apologize,) it said, the tone shifting slightly. (We dragons have a tendency to make things sound… grander than they are. But I’m not lying when I said that you are far more capable.)

“Forget about it.” Shaking his head, he decided to let it go for now.

He cast multiple barriers around himself, just in case, and activated Index’s robe along with other protective artifacts he got from Julius’ treasury just in case of emergency.

With everything in place, he took a deep breath and leaped into the molten pool of magma, bracing himself for whatever lay ahead.

The heat intensified instantly, pressing against his barriers in all directions. A blinding orange glow surrounded him, making it nearly impossible to see.

But he pressed on, descending deeper into the abyss. Seconds turned to minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen.

By the time twenty minutes passed, his patience was wearing thin.

“Do you know how far I have to dive?” he called out, his voice tinged with worry. “I’m consuming too much energy to maintain these barriers, and it keeps getting hotter.”

(No, this is also my first time,) Pantheon admitted, its tone annoyingly casual.

Asher pinched the bridge of his nose, frustration mounting. He needed to conserve his energy in case he had to resurface quickly.

But after thirty grueling minutes, he finally passed through the lava and found himself hovering in a vast underground cavern.

Above him, the lava hung suspended, held in place by an invisible barrier.

The glowing orange liquid shimmered like a fiery ocean, casting flickering shadows across the cave’s walls. But it was the sight below him that drew his full attention.

Lying peacefully on a ground of glittering diamonds was a massive dragon, its size dwarfing even the tallest structures he had ever seen in this world.

Its body, easily the size of a hundred-story building, was covered in dark red scales that gleamed faintly in the lava’s glow.

His heart skipped a beat. “You lied to me,” he said coldly, clutching the core at his chest, ready to activate the spell that would destroy Pantheon’s will.

(Wait… That’s only an empty body. Mel is still not awake yet. Use your senses to feel it!) Pantheon’s voice urged urgently.

He hesitated but decided to check for himself. Extending his senses, he scanned the massive dragon.

Pantheon was right. The dragon was nothing more than an empty husk.

There was no energy, no soul—nothing. It was a hollow shell.

“So, what exactly is this thing? And where’s the core we’re looking for?”

Asher asked, his voice filled with suspicion. He’s here for the core—nothing more, nothing less.

(Fly closer—it has to be near that body.)

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Authors Note:

You might be wondering about the time skip. Well, the only thing Asher really needed to get in this world was the dragon body. So, I just sped things up to move the story forward.

His FL’s are waiting for him. XD