"The Door That Refused Him"
Suddenly—
Julian's eyes trembled.
Tears began to fall.
Takemishi and Jeigan froze, staring at him in shock.
Hanaume stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder,
"What's wrong…? Why are you crying?"
Julian suddenly pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry… please forgive me. I treated you so badly…"
Takemishi and Jeigan exchanged a small smile.
Even Walminiya and Walmiliya smiled softly.
Hanaume gently returned the hug,
"It's okay… I've already forgiven you."
He paused, then added,
"The fact that you understand your mistake now… that's enough for me."
Walmiliya gestured toward the soldiers.
The Lamia soldiers stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"We're sorry. We hurt you… and even tried to kill you. Please forgive us. Whatever punishment you give, we will accept it."
Jeigan, Takemishi, Julian, and Hanaume looked at them in surprise.
Walminiya spoke calmly,
"You are free to punish them for their mistake."
Then she lowered her head slightly,
"And you may punish me as well… this is also my fault. I failed to control them."
Walmiliya stepped beside her,
"Then punish me too. I share the responsibility."
Julian suddenly raised his voice, slightly annoyed,
"What are you all doing? Did I say I'm going to punish anyone?"
He paused, then coughed lightly, shifting back into his usual attitude,
"My injury is already healed… so you all got lucky. Hmph."
Takemishi laughed.
Soon, Hanaume, Walmiliya, Walminiya, and even the soldiers began laughing as well.
But Jeigan remained silent.
(If they weren't here… who would have saved us?)
(I'm still so weak…)
(I couldn't even protect them…)
(I try so hard to make a deal… to save people when they need me…)
(But no one chooses me…)
(I'm just… a useless dealer…)
Takemishi noticed his expression,
"What's wrong? Thinking about something?"
Jeigan quickly shook his head,
"N-no… nothing. I'm just happy… that you're all together again."
Takemishi smiled,
"This happened because of you. If you hadn't figured out this place, we'd still be searching for Hanaume."
Julian scoffed,
"Don't praise him that much."
The others laughed again.
Hanaume turned to Jeigan,
"And… I'm sorry too. For everything I did to you."
Jeigan replied calmly,
"You said it yourself… realizing your mistake is enough. That's enough for me too."
Suddenly—
Walminiya playfully slid forward with her tail and bumped them together.
"Alright, that's enough emotional talk. Just be good friends now."
Takemishi looked around,
"This is the central area of Lamia Forest, right? Then there should be a headquarters here…"
Walmiliya smiled,
"There is."
Jeigan looked confused,
"Where?"
Walminiya pointed down,
"Right here."
Suddenly—
The ground beneath them cracked in a perfect circle.
Then—
it began to descend slowly, like an elevator.
Julian looked around, slightly shocked,
"What is this…?"
Hanaume explained,
"Lamia bases are different from others. Our headquarters are underground."
The platform continued descending.
Jeigan looked around at the dark walls,
"So… everything is beneath us?"
Walminiya nodded,
"Yes. This way, no sudden attack can reach us. Enemies can't even locate our base. And from below, we can observe them using Deal Power X Eye."
Walmiliya added,
"And this isn't just our forest. Every Lamia forest in every city and country follows this system."
Finally—
The platform stopped.
In front of them stood a massive underground door.
Jeigan looked up,
"How deep are we…?"
They moved forward.
Walminiya and Walmiliya placed their hands on a sensor.
The door began to open slowly—
with a deep, heavy sound.
Walminiya said,
"Our base is built at this depth so we can easily access coal to power it."
The door fully opened.
Behind them, the platform slowly rose back up.
They stood still—
shocked.
Except for Walminiya, Walmiliya, the soldiers, and Hanaume.
They had already seen this.
Jeigan's eyes widened,
"…Wow."
Inside—
a breathtaking underground world revealed itself.
Trees.
Waterfalls.
Flowers.
A glowing biome that looked like a fantasy realm.
Julian stood frozen, jaw slightly dropped.
Takemishi whispered,
"Beautiful…"
They slowly stepped forward.
Walmiliya laughed softly,
"What? Are you going to keep staring from outside, or come in?"
They snapped out of it and quickly entered.
The door closed behind them.
Jeigan, Julian, and Takemishi looked around in awe as they walked.
Walmiliya explained,
"This is our headquarters garden. Everything here—the trees, the flowers, the water—was created using our deal powers."
The soldiers walked ahead.
The group followed behind the princesses.
They stopped in front of another massive door.
Walmiliya said,
"This is the main room of our headquarters. The Mother Tree—the source of our DLMANA—is protected inside."
The soldiers placed their hands into a hollow slot near the door.
They were allowed through.
Walminiya turned to the others,
"You'll have to do the same. The Mother Tree itself controls this door. It decides who is allowed inside."
She pointed at the hollow,
"Place your hand here. If the Mother Tree accepts you, the door will open."
Hanaume stepped forward first.
He placed his hand—
and passed.
Julian followed.
Then Takemishi.
Then Walmiliya.
Then Walminiya.
Finally—
Jeigan stepped forward.
He slowly placed his hand inside the hollow.
—
Inside the room—
The spirit of the Mother Tree suddenly opened its eyes.
Fear filled its expression.
The door did not open.
And then—
She screamed.