Flying on a void dragon is no different than flying on a flying boat. Maybe it’s because the ruler strapped a saddle onto the dragon, and on top of that saddle, there’s basically a small cabin. Other than the constant side-to-side motions, it’s really no different than being inside my room.

“According to the aura I sensed on you, this should be the dimension you were talking about,” a scratchy voice said from outside the cabin. Along with the dragon’s voice, there was also a high-pitched blaring sound. For some reason, it reminded me of the formations Ilya left behind to alert the sect when invaders came through the door, but that doesn’t make any sense. That door floating in the sky belonged to me, and it should’ve vanished when I was kidnapped to the higher realm.

“No, you’re right,” the ruler said. She was sitting next to me, and she wasn’t pretending to be my pregnant servant anymore. “That sound is one of Ilya’s alarms. She’s a pretty interesting character.”

Ah? We haven’t even seen her yet, but the ruler already knows Ilya’s an interesting person? “Can you read her mind from all the way over here?”

“No,” the ruler said and shook her head. “I’m refraining from using my abilities; I don’t want to accidentally shatter this realm.”

“Are you really strong enough to do that on accident?” It’s a shame no one picked a fight against me when we left Atlantis. Even though I basically got all the rare treasures, beat up a bunch of humans thanks to Mrs. Mu, and let the ruler do what she wanted to the demons in the giant puppet, the elders outside were surprisingly okay with the result. Sure, one or two of them might’ve been upset, but when the ruler showed her true identity, they changed their minds real quick. I didn’t get to see the ruler fight any of the supreme immortals present because they apologized and ran away so fast.

“Yep.” The ruler nodded. “The mechanics are a little complicated, but essentially, there’s a barrier generated by the core of the land that prevents spiritual energy from entering. If I release the right amount, I’ll shatter the barrier from within.”

“And that’s … bad.” Mm, if it were a good thing, the ruler wouldn’t be worrying about it. Ah? Should I be worrying about it? “If I release some energy, would I shatter the barrier too?”

“No,” the ruler said and patted my tail. “You’ll need a lot more spiritual energy to do that. If you fused with the seed you obtained in Atlantis, it’d be possible after a few years of accumulating.”

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In conclusion, the ruler’s a lot stronger than I am, and her problems are things I don’t even have to worry about. Mm, what I should worry about is the number of anti-Lucia cannon’s being pointed at the dragon. I don’t even have to stick my head out of the cabin to see the ground with my divine sense. I’m not too concerned about being hit by the cannon anymore since I can make spiritual-energy armor out of flames, but Slayer Junior’s not as sturdy as me, and he’s riding the dragon the old-fashioned way—by hugging its neck as hard as he can while keeping his eyes tightly shut. If he gets hit by an anti-Lucia cannon, I’ll be the one responsible because no one will blame the ruler even if she’s the one at fault.

“Do you want to ride the dragon the old-fashioned way as well?”

“No, thank you.” Ah? Wait a second. “You said you weren’t going to be using your abilities, so how’re you reading my mind?”

“I’m Soul Scouring you through your tail,” the ruler said. “As you know, Soul Scour doesn’t expend any spiritual energy.”

But using divine sense to Soul Scour someone at a distance does? I’m not sure if that makes sense. Mrs. Feathers was able to use her divine sense, and she was only a quasi-immortal at that time.

“Oh, no,” the ruler said and smiled at me. “I’m not worried about breaking the realm with my divine sense. I’m worried I’ll see something that’ll infuriate or excite me to the point of being unable to control myself. If I discovered traces of a certain someone’s ancestor, for example, I might want to vent some anger.”

Mm, but doesn’t Soul Scouring me to view what I’m viewing with my divine sense ruin the whole point of the ruler not using her divine sense to see? Ah, forget it. The ruler’s wise and mysterious; it’ll just hurt my head if I try to figure out what she’s thinking. Before Slayer Junior gets hurt, I’ll just use my divine sense to locate Ilya…. Locate … Ilya…. Is she not here? I can’t seem to find Sophia either! Ooh, Softie’s down there giving a speech to a crowd! After Ilya and Sophia, Softie’s the next person in line on the list of people I wanted to see. I’ll teleport over there and say hello. “Hey, Softie!”

“—many of us might die, but….” Softie’s words trailed off as she turned to look at me. Her eyes widened, and the thing she was holding in her hand dropped to the ground, causing a loud thud and echo to ring throughout the plaza. “Lucia…?”

“Yep, that’s”—

Slap!

—“me…?” Softie just slapped herself. Was there a mosquito maybe? “Uh, are you okay?”

Softie took in a deep breath. Her cheek was reddening, and I could see a layer of water forming over her eyes. “I was just checking to see if I was under an illusionary technique. Are you really Lucia? Are you really back? How?”

“Yes, I’m me.” If I wasn’t me, then what else would I be? “As for how I’m back, my super-duper awesome master kidnapped a void dragon to bring me back. With the dragon as my new ride, I can bring a whole bunch of you guys to the immortal realm too! I got us a whole mountain for our personal use.”

“That dragon belongs to you?” Softie asked, staring up at the sky. The void dragon did look a little impressive from down here like a giant black snake in the sky. “If that’s the case….” Softie looked around before picking up the thing she dropped earlier. “Everyone, stand down! That dragon is friendly!”