Chapter 271: Peeled Mask

Bellachrona was nowhere to be seen.

They had witnessed her being sunk into the ground, but as a dragon, that was hardly enough to take her out of the fight. She wouldn’t perish from that—especially not while using Axel’s potions, which provided her with a health pool ten times her normal HP!

“As expected, did she…”

Axel whispered, then shook his head. His disappointed expression faded as quickly as it had come.

After all, she was someone they had just met a few hours ago.

It wasn’t as if she had been with them long enough for him to grow attached. Still, her “disappearance” felt like a blow to the back of Axel’s head.

He had been the one to encourage trust in her, to cooperate in their mission to defeat the evil dragon, Fafnir. But now, she…

“…!”

Axel straightened up, dismissing thoughts of the missing dragon, and stepped into Fenrir’s portal.

However, as soon as he crossed over, the situation had already taken a turn for the worse.

“Y-You guys…” Beatrix whispered. “Too… slow…”

…Blood dripped from her lips as she clutched the gaping wound in her side.

Though she was injured, Axel felt a surge of relief. Ahead of him stood a statue of a dragon. No, it was a petrified dragon—the very same one that had nearly defeated them: Fafnir.

“Looks like everything went as planned,” Axel whispered as he moved closer, pouring a potion over the immobile Beatrix’s wounds.

Right…

Beatrix hadn’t been with them since the cursing plan was set in motion.

Instead, she had “pretended” to jump into the portal, led by Fenrir to a different location once she was out of sight, where she initiated a secret plan. This plan involved the only other item in the shop that could possibly work on a godlike being, such as a dragon.

It was a trap designed not only as a countermeasure for when Fafnir escaped but also to ensure the safety of Maria and Cherry. Beatrix had been with them—or rather, with Maria—the entire time!

And also… just in case a certain dragon decided to stab them in the back.

Axel’s gaze shifted past Fafnir’s figure to the humanoid statue behind him—a tall figure made entirely of stone, completely petrified.

“I knew it,” he murmured, shaking his head in disappointment. “No, I expected it. But to think Bellachrona would truly betray our trust…”

Her stance was not one of an impending attack on Fafnir; instead, it appeared as if she was being “protected” by him, though it proved futile in the end.

Beatrix rose to her feet, her wounds healed and her clothes mended with a quick Repair.

Their eyes reflected a mix of sadness and disbelief.

However, they understood that this was not a fantasy but a harsh reality—something Cherry had glimpsed through the mural she discovered.

Their supposed “ally” had turned against them.

…

Everything went back to a few minutes ago.

Maria, while carrying the goblet of fire over her shoulders and traversing the peak of the mountain, felt something amiss.

The air suddenly felt strained, almost as if a powerful being was bearing down on her. Without delay, she quickly lowered the goblet and assumed a battle stance, carefully surveying her surroundings.

“Miss Maria, it’s me.”

A familiar figure appeared.

“B-Bellachrona?” Maria whispered, surprised, before sighing in relief. “Thank the gods, it’s you. I thought it was that evil dragon coming closer,” she added quietly.

“Yeah, Fafnir is still engaged with Axel and the rest,” Bella explained as she walked forward without stopping, a smile on her face.

“I’ve come here under Axel’s orders to help you carry the goblet out.”

“I see…” Maria smiled, extending her hand forward as if for a handshake.

“Then, can you…?” she said, changing her hand’s orientation to palm facing forward. “Survive this?”

“…!”

Bellachrona was shocked to see Maria attack her without warning.

A powerful elemental arrow—a Wind Arrow—shot forward, aimed directly at the dragon’s face. It was fast, but not so fast that it was unavoidable. Bella quickly turned her head to the side, successfully dodging—

“NOW!”

“…!”

Only to fall into another trap.

Something clinked at her leg, nearly causing her to trip. When she looked down, she found shackles that looked all too familiar—the same ones Axel had used on her before!

As she hesitated, four more shackles snapped into place, locking both her wrists, both ankles, and her neck. Her stats plummeted like a stone sinking in deep water, forcing her to fall to her knees.

“T-This is… What’s the meaning of this?!” Bella cried, her anger evident. “Why are you attacking me?!”

Maria seemed disinclined to answer. Instead, she turned, carried the goblet, and began walking away, moving faster than before—as if the weight of the item were no burden at all, despite her earlier struggle.

“Let me answer in her stead.”

Just as Maria disappeared into a narrow cavern, a figure emerged, slowly materializing like a mirage.

There, about three meters to Bellachrona’s right, stood Beatrix.

A smile was plastered on her face, as if everything unfolding was precisely as she had planned. She appeared confident, seemingly holding the upper hand.

“You’ve made five mistakes in all,” she began.

“First, the dwarves didn’t inform us about a dragon guarding the gate. That’s the first dubious point.” She raised five fingers, the back of her palm facing Bella, and brought her thumb down.

“Second,” she lowered her pinky. “Axel knew you were alive even before the [trap] activated.”

Axel had attempted to place what he thought was a dragon’s corpse into his inventory. However, it failed. That meant one thing—the target was still alive and merely pretending to be dead!

An unknown dragon feigning death before a gate? Nothing could be more suspicious.

“Third,” Beatrix brought down her ring finger. “You being the key to opening the seal… is pure nonsense. Our mere presence is enough for that, isn’t it? You simply pushed the door open. You think we wouldn’t notice?”

Bella’s expression shifted slightly at this point; however, she remained silent.

After all, that alone wasn’t enough “evidence” to suggest she had betrayed them… until the next point.

“Fourth,” Beatrix pulled her index finger down, leaving only her middle finger raised. “Axel isn’t the kind of man you think he is. Accepting an outsider so easily? Fully trusting them? Hah! What a farce!”

Right.

From the very beginning, the moment Axel and the girls confronted her… no, the moment Axel first failed to store her “corpse” in his inventory, everything was already in motion. He had been questioning the being standing before them all along. He never truly let his guard down around her—not once!

That’s why she was always positioned next to Fenrir, with Axel right behind her.

They were watching her!

“Finally…”

Beatrix lowered her middle finger, causing her clenched fist to glow with a powerful blue light.

“Having the same black scales as Fafnir… only adds to your suspicion, you know?” She giggled. “A matching pair, is it? Feeling proud of transforming your lover into a dragon like yourself~?”

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