The dreadhulk surged through the waves of the dark ocean, sending boiling spray pattering down on the deck. After the first rain of searing pitch, Piper had sought shelter inside the ship. She sat slumped against the wall, her mind churning as she tried to comprehend everything that had just been revealed.

  The thought of being the daughter of a dragon the size of a mountain range almost made her laugh. She was just a girl from Earth—not some heir to the Infernal Realm.

  But now that she thought about it, she suspected that Malkazar was lying. After all, he’d already pretended to be a knight when she first met him in the Black Pyramid. This was probably some sort of sick game for him.

  In her heart, she knew she was just an ordinary girl—who had woken up in an ancient tomb with a demon’s body. Alright, she might not be able to think of herself as a normal girl any longer. But she definitely wasn’t the daughter of a dragon.

  She looked up as Malkazar walked down the ramp. The demon paused at the bottom, removing his hat, and then pointing at the spot next to her.

  “May I join you?”

  “It’s a free world.”

  Malkazar settled down and leaned his head against the wall. “I suppose I should have tempered my words slightly.”

  “You think? Why are you pretending I’m the daughter of Elaraxa, anyway? Is this a game for you? Or are you going to use me to gain more power?”

  Malkazar lifted a hand to his chest. “I’m wounded that you think I would play games with a young maiden such as yourself. Since you are headed to face Elaraxa, I simply believed you should know everything about your relationship with her.”

  “I’m not her daughter! I’m a girl from Earth!”

  “No matter how much you deny it, the truth won’t change.”

  Piper sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, she looked over at the demonic noble. “If I’m not human, was I always a demon?” she asked softly. “Are my parents even my own?”

  Malkazar shrugged. “I couldn’t say. Time works differently between the realms, which you probably know from your last visit. And Elaraxa’s motives have always been… enigmatic.”

  “Is there any way you can just send me back to Earth?”

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to do that yourself,” Malkazar grinned. “But just imagine going back to your pitiful world with the power of a demon lord. Wouldn’t it be fun to take over your old realm?”

  “I just want to see my parents again,” she whispered. “Not conquer Earth like a maniac.”

  Malkazar frowned before spinning his wide-brimmed hat around on his finger. “Did you mention something about losing your friends before?”

  “A rot mage murdered them.” Her heart ached at the mention of her friends. “They died only moments before I came to the Infernal Realm.”

  “What were their names?”

  “Selene and Althea,” she said softly. “Selene was a jester and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

  “I suppose royalty always needs to keep someone around to entertain them. The loss of a skilled jester would certainly sting. Thankfully, I have Astaroth over there who’s always a barrel of laughs.”

  The tall demon who had approached the ramp during their conversation simply sniffed.

  “See?” Malkazar continued. “What did I tell you? He’s a riot to be around. What if I could do something about your friend?”

  “Like what? Turn her into a zombie? Astaroth already suggested that.”

  “So, zombies are out?”

  “What is wrong with both of you?” Piper surged to her feet, her hands curling into fists. “Just leave me alone until we arrive.”

  She gathered up her equipment and hurried down the hallway, leaving Malkazar and Astaroth behind. As soon as she found an empty room, she rushed inside and flopped down on the floor.

  Piper placed her bow and quiver aside before lying on her back. She stared up at the fleshy ceiling, her thoughts a jumbled mess of despair and shock at the revelations. After a few minutes, she decided she needed to keep herself occupied. And since there wasn’t anything else to do, she started to explore the ship.

  Moving through the corridors, she passed familiar rooms filled with pulsating organs. Then she descended a ramp to the lower decks, only to find a cavernous open space. Near the front of the ship, where the mouth resided, there were huge bones forming what looked like a jaw.

  Pressing her lips together, she tried to figure out why the decks below were so empty. Perhaps this area was for carrying cargo, though she doubted that was a thing here. Her eyes returned to the jaw structure, and she wondered if this functioned as a stomach. If the dreadhulk consumed something, would it end up here?

  If this were a stomach, she definitely didn’t want to step off the ramp. Who knew if some digestive juices would start spraying all over her if she did.

  Piper retreated to the upper decks and wandered through the remaining unexplored rooms. She found the heart again, which was pumping healthily, as hearts tend to do when they’re not skewered by a demonic sword. Then she moved to the next room and found what must be the ship's brain.

  She wondered what other strange demons called this place home. She knew there were some that almost resembled robots from viewing the portal in the Black Pyramid. What fresh monstrosities would she run into the next time she returned?

  Piper continued wandering, simply pacing the hallways of the ship. After half an hour had passed, she braced herself to deal with Malkazar and Astaroth again. She had a feeling that ignoring them wasn’t a viable plan. Anyway, she didn’t want to make an enemy of a demonic noble.

  The walk back to the ramp leading up to the main deck only took a few minutes. She emerged to see the two demons conversing near the stern of the ship. Both turned in her direction when she appeared.

  Astaroth quirked his brow. “Are you done sulking like a little girl?”

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  “Excuse me for not wanting to talk to you two,” she said curtly. “You’re not exactly fun to be around at the moment.”

  Malkazar crossed his arms. “Are you seriously putting me in the same group as skinny over there? Now I truly am wounded.”

  Piper ignored his comments and walked over to the railing. As she did, she lifted her arm to shield her face from the boiling spray. During her time below deck, they’d drawn closer to the slumbering dragon. Now, the draconic form of Elaraxa dominated the horizon.

  “Do you have any idea where we should land?”

  Malkazar walked up beside her. “I’m not sure if I want to answer your question after you made the outrageous claim that I’m as unpleasant to talk to as skinny.”

  “I never said you were unpleasant to talk to.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what you said.”

  “Fine.” Piper fought down a sigh. “You had a fun energy about you in the Black Pyramid.”

  A grin split Malkazar’s face. “I really think you would have enjoyed my character this time. But it wasn’t to be, I suppose. Now, on to your question. I suggest you direct the ship to one of its front limbs. When we reach the claws, you can simply clamber up the leg until you reach the fortress on the back.”

  Piper squinted as she followed the route that Malkazar had described. “How long is that going to take?”

  “Perhaps a few days to make the ascent.”

  “A few days?” Piper exclaimed. “I don’t have a few days. While I’m here, my best friend is alone. And you know I need food and water, right? Can’t you just magic me up to the top?”

  Malkazar shook his head. “There is one immutable law in the Infernal Realm; no one, not even a noble, can interfere with claiming a new class.” He patted Piper on the shoulder. “Unfortunately, you’re on your own when you get there.”

  “Great,” she mumbled. “Just great.”

  Piper remained at the prow, occasionally casting [Demonic Blood] when the boiling pitch sprayed her exposed skin. But that happened less and less as the ocean calmed around the dragon.

  The closer she got to Elaraxa, the more the scale became incomprehensible. The dragon must be at least the size of a large city. How was she supposed to challenge her for a class? She might spend the next few weeks wandering around, looking for something to fight. It wasn’t like she could just go up and punch the dragon in the nose.

  “Astaroth,” she called out. “Is there anyway to change my class choice?”

  “I’m afraid not. Once you have chosen your class, the decision is irreversible.”

  “Alright,” she breathed to herself. “I have to run up the leg and break into the castle on the top. Hopefully, I find something there to give me a new class.”

  Piper watched as the leg continued to grow until it loomed larger than the Black Pyramid in her vision. A rocky outcropping jutted up around the leg, where steaming waves crashed against it.

  She mentally ordered the ship to veer off its course in the hope of finding a better landing spot. But after nearly an hour had passed, she hadn’t spotted anywhere to beach the ship.

  If she wanted to reach the dragon’s legs, she would need to get as close as possible to the rocky shore. Then she would have to leap across the divide and hope she didn’t tumble into the breaker waves.

  Then she remembered who she was with. “Astaroth,” she called out. “I want you to fly me across.”

  “I will do no such thing,” the bony demon sniffed. “Such an action would be demeaning for one in my station.”

  “Would you prefer I miss the jump and drown in the ocean?”

  “I suppose I see your point. However, I demand that you never share what transpired here with anyone else.”

  “Who am I going to tell?”

  “Still, I must insist that you swear on your honor.”

  “Do demons have honor?”

  “Need I remind you again that you are not a demon?”

  Piper rolled her eyes before nodding. “Fine. I promise not to tell anyone about you flying me around like a drone.”

  “Are you implying I’m a lazy insect who exists for no other reason than to mate with our queen?”

  “What?” Piper shook her head. “No! Drones… are something else in my world.”

  “I should hope so.”

  Piper ordered the ship to stop a short distance from the coastline. Once there, she walked over to Astarorth and looked up at him. “Well?”

  With a deep sigh that almost sounded like he was deflating, the demon reached across and took her hand. “Know that once I deposit you on the leg, I am unable to render any further aid.”

  “I get it,” Piper said quickly. Already, she could feel thirst and hunger gnawing at her body. She suspected she’d been here for the better part of a day, and her body back home was beginning to suffer. She needed to wrap this up quickly.

  Astaroth took her hand in his long fingers, and a moment later she became weightless. Her feet lifted from the deck, and together they floated across the steaming waves.

  The demon climbed higher, angling towards the claws of the slumbering dragon. He slowed as they neared the scaly toes and stopped a short distance above the claws.

  Without warning, Astaroth released Piper, sending her tumbling downward with a yelp. She struck close to a knuckle and rolled down the toe. Her hands scrambled for a hold as she slid before she finally managed to grab onto the edge of a scale.

  Glaring at Astaroth, she decided he was going to become the royal latrine digger if it turned out she really was descended from Elaraxa.

  “As I said,” Astaroth said calmly. “I cannot interfere with the selection of your class.”

  “So, you just dropped me?” she called out. “I swear you do this stuff on purpose.”

  A slight twitch of the demon’s mouth confirmed her suspicions. Now that she thought about it, the royal latrine digger was probably too good a position in the Infernal Realm. She was going to find something far, far worse for him.

  Using her high Strength stat, she began to ascend the toe. She braced her feet against a scale before pushing herself up to grab onto the next ledge. She continued to do this for the next hour until she reached a flat part on top of the foot.

  Once there, she rose to her feet and looked down at her summons. The dreadhulk bobbed a short distance off the shore. She scanned it for Malkazar and Astaroth; there was no sign of either of them.

  Piper checked her mana and realized it hadn’t been regenerating. When she had a demon summons active, her mana remained static. And since the ship had taken so much to summon, she had almost none to work with.

  Pressing her lips together, she tried to decide what to do. If she unsummoned the ship, would the noble and her guide tumble into the boiling ocean? She was annoyed with them, but not annoyed enough to risk hurting them.

  Still, after a few minutes, she couldn’t see any other options. She needed her mana back for anything she might encounter on the dragon. With a frown, she cancelled her skill, and the dreadhulk blinked out of existence. Thankfully, she didn’t see any tiny shapes plunging into the ocean. Which meant both of her companions had most likely departed to do other things.

  Piper rested for a few minutes before resuming her climb. The angle of the leg made it feel like she was climbing a steep hill. But with her improved physical stats, she barely had any trouble.

  The only problem was that after a few more hours had passed, she hadn’t even reached the knee. At this pace, she wasn’t going to make the summit for days. She needed to move faster.

  With a deep breath, she gripped her gear and then leaped upward. She bounded up the leg, pushing herself until the landscape blurred. Notifications filled her vision as her [Running] skill slowly ticked up, but she ignored them.

  As she ran, her mana slowly refilled. She wondered if she could use her spell [Phantom Flesh] to create a flying creature to ride. However, as she gazed down at the ocean far below, she realized this wasn’t the place to test the spell. If it failed for some reason, she’d almost certainly plummet to her death.

  Piper continued loping up the leg, her thoughts and worries fading away until only one remained—her desire to keep moving. There was a ticking clock, and she had to reach the summit before her body gave out back in Kalmyros.

  Time lost all meaning as she ran, but after what felt like days had passed, she finally reached the shoulder of the dragon. As she crested a shoulder, she paused to take in the valley spreading out below. In the distance, she could make out the vast dark fortress perched on the back.

  Piper exhaled and set off toward the castle. She assumed that was where she would find answers, but if she was wrong, she probably wouldn’t have time to try anything else. Hopefully, the dragon didn’t expect her to climb all the way up to its head to talk to it.

  Or fight it.

  After facing the shadeling to receive her class last time, she really hoped she wouldn’t have to defeat Elaraxa. How the heck would she even hurt a dragon the size of a mountain range? At best, she might be able to crack a few of Elaraxa’s scales before she got squashed like a bug.

  Pushing the concerns out of her mind, she dropped back into a steady run. Her pace was probably far beyond any sprinter back on Earth, but it still felt agonizingly slow.

  As the castle grew larger in her vision, she noted movement on the battlements. The fortress wasn’t abandoned. And knowing the Infernal Realm, she’d probably have to fight whatever was manning the walls.

  Her quest had just gotten a lot harder. And she was almost out of time.