"Ser, quick, get up there—go first, we'll talk later!" Dany left the small platform in a few hurried steps and charged up the stone stairs with a thud thud thud, shouting as she went.
"That noise wasn't from you?" Barristan was startled. He climbed after her while explaining, "Earlier, when I went up, I thought you had crossed to the other side of the Wall, so I sat by Drogon to warm up.
"But after waiting for a while, you still hadn't returned, and neither Drogon nor Rhaegal flew off to find you. Then something strange happened at the Wall. Maester Aemon and I both became worried.
"After that, a bubbling, boiling sound came from the bottom of the well. I thought you were down there, so I came to look. I didn't expect you to actually come back through the Black Gate.
"If the noise in the well wasn't from you, then what was it? Where's Sam?"
"I'm not sure what's down there either. Sam passed through the Black Gate and went to the other side."
BOOM! A thunderous roar exploded from the depths of the well. Water splashed ten meters into the air, soaking Dany, who had climbed seven or eight meters up the stairs.
"Screeeeee!" A shrill screech, sharp as a needle, pierced up from below, stabbing at their eardrums and making their heads spin.
"Ah!" Barristan stumbled, clutching his forehead in pain.
Dany froze and entered her dragon-spirit state—dragon soul merged into her body. She faced the well and let out a True Dragon Roar.
"Chah!"
An invisible wave surged from above, colliding with the shrieking force from below. BOOM!
The resulting shockwave echoed like muffled thunder in the depths of the well. The walls vibrated slightly.
Water splashed in all directions as a pair of blood-red eyes the size of "real brass bells" surfaced. Like twin flashlights, they scanned upward, brimming with malice and greed.
More terrifyingly, Dany sensed a familiar aura from the creature—demigod.
Yes, just like the Undying Ones and Balerion, it was a demigod. Though not as overpowering as Balerion, it was clearly stronger than the Undying Ones.
—This being hadn't just ascended through unnatural means; it had also preserved its physical body.
"Seven hells… There really is an evil sealed down there?" Dany shuddered. She immediately turned her head, climbing faster on all fours.
"Evil? What evil?" Barristan grew wary, but didn't stop for a second as he continued upward.
"Squeak-squeak!" The monster at the bottom let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a rat and a sow.
Splash! The surface of the water broke open. The monster sprang onto the stairs, racing upward.
Thud-thud-thud—its wet paws slapped rapidly against the stone, quickly closing the distance.
Realizing it was much faster than her, Dany grew frantic. She shouted, "Drogon! Get the old man out! Rhaegal, come help!"
"Skreeee!" Drogon cried from the doorway, then retreated at full speed, dragging his leathery wings on the ground and pulling the seated Maester Aemon out of the kitchen.
CRASH! Rhaegal leapt from the top of the Wall, crashing through the already-crumbling roof. Bricks and wood fell with a loud clatter.
"Skreeee!" Rhaegal landed at the well's edge, his long neck stretching down as he released a thunderous dragon roar.
"Squeak-squeak!" The monster screamed in fear, its charge faltering.
Just as Dany let out a breath of relief, the red eyes of the creature began to flicker. A strange energy wave radiated from its body.
As the wave passed through her, Dany felt a jolt in her spiritual core—her second soul-ring twitched violently. Her expression changed dramatically. "A greenseer? No… a demigod? What kind of creature is this?!"
At the same time, Rhaegal let out a strangled cry, flapped his wings wildly, stirred up a storm of dust, and thrashed on the ground in a frenzy—
—Just like last time, when the three-eyed crow invaded his mind (though it wasn't true possession).
"Dragon Spirit!"
In the next moment, Dany entered Rhaegal's spiritual space.
"A rat spirit?!" she gasped in horror.
Inside the dragon's lava-like soulscape stood a mountainous, white-furred, red-eyed rat. It clung to Rhaegal's neck, gnawing savagely at it with dagger-like teeth.
A creature like a white sow—no, a bamboo rat… no, a boar-rat!
Scales flew everywhere, dragon blood sprayed wildly, and Rhaegal's neck was riddled with bloody wounds.
"Rhaegal, you're a dragon! Don't cower!" Dany snapped out of her shock and shouted encouragement.
"Skreeee!" Rhaegal weakly twisted his head and bit at the giant rat's hind leg.
The white boar-rat was vicious. Faced with the sharp dragon teeth, it didn't dodge at all. Instead, it pushed off forcefully with its paw toward the dragon's mouth. Bang!
"Skreeee!" Rhaegal's head snapped sideways like he'd been hit by a truck, letting out a pained cry.
Though it looked like a simple grapple, it was in fact a spiritual battle. And in this duel, the dragon's soul—its toughness, strength, and technique—was no match for the rat.
Still, it wasn't completely unexpected. The boar-rat carried clear traces of greenseer power in its soul.
"Drogon!" Dany, still physically climbing the stairs, couldn't offer real support to Rhaegal. All she could do was call for backup.
The boar-rat, like a true greenseer, could multitask—spiritually assaulting Rhaegal while also physically chasing Dany.
Boom! By now, Aemon had exited into the courtyard. Drogon smashed through the wall with impunity. Many bricks and tiles crashed into the well, clanging off Dany and Barristan's helmets.
Then Drogon stepped through the rubble and reached the edge of the well. He opened his jaws and released a torrent of dragonfire.
The blood-red flame, laced with sulphur and black smoke, filled the well. Barristan should have been directly in its path—but Dany raised her hand.
A transparent shield seemed to envelop the old knight. The flame diverted around him like water around a rock, blasting past him toward the well.
Her flame control continued. She altered the fire's form, turning it from wild blasts into spears as thick as goblets, their tips aimed straight at the sow-sized white rat.
Shhhhhh! But the rat leapt like a locust, its dagger-like claws shattering stone as it clung to the well wall—dodging the attack.
Except… not really.
The flame spears were under Dany's full control. Instantly, they transformed from spears into ropes, lunging to bind the boar-rat.
Shhhhhh! The rat pushed off again, landing back on the stairs, narrowly dodging another strike.
At the same time, the rat vanished from Rhaegal's spirit realm and entered Drogon's mind instead. Rhaegal struggled to his feet. Drogon began to "lose control"—his dragonfire attack halted abruptly.
Dany's eyes narrowed. She deliberately adopted a panicked look and shouted, "No good! The boar-rat is too strong! Quick, climb! We need to fly out immediately!"
As she shouted and climbed, she gathered dragonfire from the well, shaping it into fireballs. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! She hurled them at the boar-rat.
By now, the White Knight had already exited the well. Dany had only seven or eight meters left to go. Rhaegal, seemingly drained, lay on the ground and didn't return to assist.
Just like that, Dany used a fireball to hold it back and quickly reached the wellhead before the giant rat could catch up. She flipped out of the well in one smooth motion.
Dany glanced at the large black creature sprawled on the ground, smashing its head against the stone edge of the well. She waved to the white knight standing nearby with his sword drawn and whispered urgently, "Black and White are both playing dead. Back off, clear some space."
"I want it dead!" she growled under her breath.
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The white knight's mouth twitched slightly, then he promptly stepped back two paces toward the door.
The octagonal kitchen had eight walls. By now, most of the roof had collapsed. Two walls near the main entrance had been smashed inward by Black, while another wall had a gaping hole blown outward where White had crashed down from above.
The five remaining walls, attached to a two-meter-high stove, were thick and solid—still standing.
Barristan held his position at the door.
"Ahhh, Dany, there's a ghost! The Mad Axe, the ghost of the Mad Axe is out!" Just then, old Aemon cried out in the courtyard and staggered fearfully toward the kitchen.
"Old man, don't come! There's a rat demon in the well!" Dany shouted quickly from behind the white knight.
"There's a ghost!" Aemon's face was full of panic. Ignoring her warning, he stumbled straight toward her.
"Screee—" The white pig-rat finally leapt out of the well shaft, letting out a piercing screech toward the moon above.
Aemon froze mid-run, standing still and staring at the massive rat exuding a terrifying murderous aura. His teeth chattered as he stammered, "R-r-rat... the rat chef!"
"Squeak squeak—" Seemingly triggered by that name, the red eyes—like bronze bells—locked cruelly onto the old maester. In a flash, the creature lunged at him.
"What?" Dany was startled, but she reacted swiftly.
In that instant, White leapt up. Its massive body lunged at the rat, stopping its movement. Just as the rat was about to dodge, White unexpectedly landed right on top of the wellhead.
Its wings spread wide, sealing the circular well opening completely—barely four meters in diameter.
At the same time, the "God Mode" activated. Black's nine-colored vortex surged into Dany's soul space and merged with her own nine-colored vortex—for the second time.
"Boom!" A violent aura exploded around Dany. Her silver hair, now streaked with firelight, whipped wildly in the air.
Old Aemon stood dazed, glancing between the divine, awe-inspiring Dany and the equally divine yet sinister and greedy rat.
What had the world come to?
Unlike the shaken Aemon, Barristan—sharp as ever—had seen a demigod before. He now sensed something familiar in both the Dragon Queen and the white rat.
Though surprised at how Dany had reached a demigod state, he remained composed, gripping his longsword and preparing to strike.
"Burn!" Dany cast only a glance at the white rat, and the fire element surged in, ready to ignite its fur and blood-red eyes.
"Squeak squeak squeak!" The white rat continued its charge, emitting a ring of dark, foul smoke that repelled the flames. With a slight shift in direction, it charged straight at the Dragon Queen behind the white knight.
It had sensed a fatal threat emanating from her.
"Hiss—crack!" At the same moment, White breathed dragonfire.
Simultaneously, the white knight moved into position, sidestepped, and braced for impact with one foot forward and the other back. He thrust his sword at the rat's eye.
In the next moment, the rat—massive as a sow—ducked its head to dodge the blade. Four gleaming claws shot from its front paw, slashing directly at the knight's chest.
"Clang—screech!" Something unexpected happened. The claws, which could cut through stone like butter, only scraped sparks across the knight's breastplate, letting out an ear-piercing screech.
That was it.
No ripped belly. No intestines spilling out. And certainly no instant kill of the bothersome knight.
"Thud—" The white knight was knocked over, but he had prepared. His body rolled with the impact, and his sword, now angled like an antelope's horn, changed from a thrust to a slash.
"Slice!" It swept clean across the rat's lower belly and groin.
"Awooo—" The rat's blood-red eyes flashed with unbearable agony. Its shriek echoed throughout Castle Long Night.
Never mind the special anti-evil properties of Valyrian steel—just hitting that spot...
Even the righteous and fearless white knight froze for a moment.
He could swear before the Seven he had never intended such a despicable move. The blade was aimed at the belly—how could he have known...
"Courting death!" Dany roared in God Mode. Her true dragon's roar unleashed a cone-shaped shockwave of condensed air, hitting the rat mid-air as it writhed in pain.
"Squeak squeak squeak—" The giant rat's body jerked, blood spraying from its eyes, nose, and mouth. It seemed suspended mid-air—then suddenly accelerated in the opposite direction.
Right into White's oncoming dragonfire.
"Boom!" The blood-red flames engulfed the rat.
Unlike ordinary fire, which had little effect, this dragonfire had special properties that broke through evil and magic. The black smoke around the rat crackled and burned.
Then, its fur ignited like oiled paper. Its eyes, nose, and ears melted like wax under the heat.
A perfect combo attack—just one round to take down the Rat Chef.
(End of chapter)
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