The location where Balint buried the black orb was out of Roksu's expectations.
The Viscount's villa was 30 meters away from the dragon's cave. Balint had buried the black orb 50 meters away from that cava, in an area filled with trees and shrubs, making it very difficult for the orb to be located.
"Balint, you're kind of amazing,"
"Something like this is a simple matter,"
He was saying it easy but Roksu saw how Balint slightly adjusted his glasses. Cale, Roksu, Ron, Balint, and Beacrox crouched around the location where the black orb, officially known as the Mana Disturbance Tool, was located, and looked toward the cave entrance that was 50 meters away, as well as the Viscount's villa that was farther away.
"You remember the plan?"
Roksu had explained the plan on their way over. Realistically speaking, there wasnt much of a plan.
"There are a total of 13 people on guard at this time."
Roksu recalled the information he read in [The Birth of a Hero]. The Black Dragon was smart, like most dragons. It had been gathering information for the long four years it was held captive, and there was a reason it attempted its escape 2 years later at around this time. There are, approximately, a total 30 people residing in the villa in two years. Originally there were about 100 people, but it slowly went down as they realized that nobody really came to this area. As such, Roksu had asked Cale to gather some information to confirm the numbers.
At the current time, there were about 60 or so people in the villa. Among the 30 mentioned in the novel, there were 3 high-leveled knights at the Vice Captain's level, as well as 7 mid-leveled knights. There were also soldiers, the torturer, and random laborers. The number of people here showed just how much attention the Marquis has been putting onto this location.
With the estimation of the novel, Roksu decided to operate under a double. As such, the plan was formulated under the assumption that there were 6 high-level knights and 14 mid-level knights. Most of the people were laborers and average soldiers, so it should not be that difficult.
Additionally, Roksu had Balint, Ron, and Beacrox. A decently strong mage and the heir and head of an assassin household. Cale's strength was also not to be underestimated.
"Let me explain one more time. There are two high-level knights and three mid leveled knights at the cave entrance, as well as 5 soldiers. Inside the cave, there is just two high-level knights and the torturer is at the end of the cave,"
Whatever the reactions were, Roksu didn't care. The important thing was that the black orb would activate soon and that they needed to move quickly in response.
"The magic recording devices located from the villa to the cave entrance will not work for 40 minutes that's to the black orb Balint buried. That is the same for the alarms, magic, traps and anything else. Nothing will work for 40 minutes,"
They needed to domesticate this dragon, the greatest magic-using creature in the world, but they could not ask any mages for help. That was why Marquis Stan chose to fill this area with magic items instead. The reason that there were only a few guards around the entrance was also because they trusted their magic items.
That was why the dragon had no choice but to cause a mana explosion to escape.
'An eye for an eye, and money for money.'
Since the Marquis used money, Roksu used money(Cale's money)as well. Roksu patted the magic bag on his waist. This was a magic bag that allowed you to store a lot of items. Inside this bag were all sorts of magic items, useful tools, and objects.
"We just need to take out the guards?"
Naturally, the three servants would be doing most of the battling. Cale would assist in clearing the path for Roksu once they got near the cave. Why would Roksu battle when such people were next to him? Roksu thought paper-cuts hurt a lot, so he didnt want to even think about getting cut by a sword.
"Yes,"
He patted Cale, who smiled beneath the mask, "Old man, make sure to stay behind me,"
"Of course,"
He would stay far away.
"We will live up to your expectations," Balint assured.
"Yes. As I mentioned, make sure they see our outfits and knock them out. Don't kill them, don't show them your sword art. You remember what to do after that right?"
"Of course," Ron hummed, "We remember it all,"
"Good, I'll leave it to you all,"
"What if we accidentally kill them?"
Roksu paused at Beacrox's question.
Cale nodded beside him, "Yes. What if there's no other way,"
'These- these vicious lunatics!'
Roksu sighed, "If there's really no other way, do it. Just don't get hurt,"
He handed them all a voice changing device. It would be bad if they had to talk during the fight and they reconginzed their voice.
"It's expensive, so don't break it,"
"Huh?"
"Not a word out of you, punk,"
Cale frowned, giving a mock glare of offense.
Roksu verified the time with his watch, 'Five minutes left'
The sky had already gotten dark, and it was night time. Roksu then recalled the conversation Cale informed him about that the redhead had with Billos.
'The magic items that have been influenced by the Mana Disturbance Tool will instantly stop working, and most of them will turn off to prevent it from blowing up. However, the highest quality magic items will start beeping to signal that they are broken. It isn't like alarm magic, instead, it is more like a clock alarm.'
'It will probably be loud?'
'I don't know where you plan on using it, but it should be loud enough for the enemy to hear.'
'However, if there are a lot of magic items in the area, it will probably get chaotic with all of the alarms going off at the same time.'
Chaotic was enough for Roksu.
"Get ready,"
Ron folded up the handkerchief he was using to wipe his daggers and put it in his pocket. Beacrox already had his greatsword at his side, prepared to be lifted and swung about. Cale checked the straps of his sword sheath once more, making sure it was tight around his waist. Balint, who would mostly be support and a guard also had a few daggers to use as his mana would not be entirely functional.
Once all of the preparations were finished, Roksu stood up.
Brrrrrrrrrrring.
Something started to vibrate right underneath where Roksu had been sitting. The black orb had started to activate.
Click. Click.
The second hand of Roksu's watch slowly approached the set time.
And finally, the last click.
"Let's go,"
At Roksu's orders, the servants followed the plan and ran ahead quickly. Cale grabbed Roksu by the wrist and the two of them ducked down a slightly different path to hide their presence until the end when they entered the cave. Peering through the trees, the two of them could follow the others.
At the same time,
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring-
The black orb finally activated.
"I guess they aren't all the highest quality magic items" Roksu muttered
Some of the magic items started to ring loudly to sound their status. Roksu and Cale followed behind the others from the hidden shades of the surrounding shrubs and headed toward the cave.
Starting now, it was a battle against time.
Ron and Beacrox were already fighting against the knights in front of the cave.
'Scary bastards.'
In that short amount of time, the soldiers already had injuries on their arms and legs and were knocked out on the floor.
"Who are you? How dare you come to this place!"
Ron easily dodged the attack of a high-level knight. He then took a step forward and made a deep cut on the side of the knight. He then avoided the blood spurting out of the cut, and slid around, to attack the knight back, followed by the back of the knight's neck. The knight fainted instantly.
Cale blinked, eyes sparkling slightly.
"Shit! What the hell is going on?" the cry echoed.
"Cale," Roksu spoke seeing the high-leveled knights inside the cave showing up.
"Got it," Cale grinned.
Cale released Roksu's wrist and showed his presence, unsheathing his sword. Roksu remained off to the side, but his eyes fell naturally to Cale who charged without hesitation at the knights, who were soon startled. The sword swung at the closest knight, who stepped back and countered stepping forward and shooting the blade towards Cale. The teenager sidestepped, body twisting and crouching down. Using his knees, Cale shot upwards towards the taller man, his sword making the move of a large swing. The knight leaned back, bringing his sword up to block while the second knight moved to make a joint attack at Cale's flank.
Cale grinned and he dropped down to the floor, keeping the momentum with his sword that made a deep cut on the first knight's thigh. As that happened, Cale jumped between a gap of the knights and quickly slammed his hilt down the back of the second knight's back. The two stumbled in surprise, the first grimacing at the wound and the numbing feeling that began to spread.
Cale, however, did not let them breathe.
Roksu watched, eyes wide in disbelief.
'It's barely been a few months. No- hold onâ why is he so viscous?'
Taking on two high-level knights was no simple matter. Cale, who had just begun training, was told do to one thing if he came to them. He had been provided several other tools to aid him and his sword had been slightly dabbed in paralysis poison. However, it required him to cut at the other party. Cale's movements now were nothing short of impressive. Even if the guards were caught off guard, the strength and power Cale was demonstrating was...scary.
From not too far, Beacrox who was making his way to support Cale, felt a surge of surprise and interest go through him.
'Has he been practicing secretly?'
Cale's weaponry had similar traits to Beacrox and Ron, who were teaching him, but there were some odd characteristics. Some of his movements were extremely fluid as if he'd performed the move a thousand times. When Cale was learning with Beacrox, one of the things both assassins had noted was that as clean and elegant as Cale's noble swordsmanship was, it was precise. Deadly precise. The moves that Cale made when sparring with or without a weapon were intense. Each of his strikes seemed to head straight for a vital point without so much of a thought.
"What the fuck!"
One of the high-leveled knights scowled and his sword became inputted with their aura. Immediately, Cale's eyes sharpened and he turned to defensive, avoiding meeting the sword head-on.
Beacrox swung his sword powerfully at the mid-leveled knight he was handling, dashing forward and reaching Cale's area to block a strike from the first knight and allowing Cale a breather. The young master frowned, but the two were soon back to back, "I was handling it,"
"You were," Beacrox admitted, "Let's wrap it up,"
Cale nodded and he glanced at the trees and made a sharp whistle. Roksu took the signal and dashed out, heading for the cave.
"Block them!" Roksu ordered as Cale and Beacrox both quickly arranged themselves to block the path to Roksu.
As soon as Cale had managed to cut at the wrist of one of the knights, Beacrox made a large movement and Cale took the notion, "I'm going,"
"Go,"
Cale quickly turned and let Beacrox, and Ron who soon met them, handle it. Balint was further back, handling the soldiers and ensuring they would remain knocked out, breaking and handling the weaponry. With father and son side by side, the Molan duo matched with one another and quickly attacked a knight's neck and stomach at the same time.
At that moment, Cale heard some ruckus from far behind them. He swore and increased his speed to where Roksu was avoiding a soldier.
"Intruders!"
It was coming from the villa.
Cale readjusted his sword grip and made a powerful downward swing. The soldier noticed him and tried to turn, blocking the sword. But Cale made no adjustments, he slammed down, the blades echoing against each other. Cale pulled back and moved closer, pulling his sword back and punching upwards with his hands to make contact with the man's chin.
"Ugh-"
Cale then stepped out of range of a sword swing and grabbed his sword sheath to slam against the soldier's head, sending him down. For good measure, Cale quickly used his sword hilt and smacked the back of the soldier's neck.
As Cale was acting as a distraction, Roksu entered the cave. After verifying that Roksu had gone ahead, Cale whistled again and the three servants all pulled back, standing where Cale had just been, blocking the entrance against the enemies.
Ron smirked, looking at the torches coming from the villa, "Come,"
Cale ran down the tunnel, catching up to Roksu relatively quickly. The older could not pause, but he turned and scanned him up and down, "You did well,"
Cale was panting slightly, but he smiled at the praise and sheathed his sword for now. By the time they arrived at the back, the only other person in the cave was in a state of chaos.
"Why, why?! Why is the Magic Crystal Ball not working?!"
The Magic Crystal Ball that the torturer held onto was one of the emergency backups that Venion had prepared in case something went wrong.
"D, don't come here! Do you know what is in here?!"
The torturer was shaking violently while looking at the two teens. He had no choice but to be scared. If the torturer received an attack higher than an average person's strength, he would instantly blow up.
It was one of Venion's safety measures as well. The strength of the blast would make the prison key and the prison itself blow up with the torturer as well. Naturally, the torturer knew about this.
"If you come, everyone here will die!"
"How scary," Cale deadpanned while Roksu, "Tsked".
Roksu took out something from his bag and calmly pulled off the cap. He then not so hurriedly tossed it onto the ground in front of the torturer, who flinched. He was in such a state of chaos he didn't even think about the hissing sound that was being released.
Roksu glanced at Cale, who had pulled out a small vial and walked forward, hiding it. He spoke calmly, "Hello, sir, it's alright. Stop panicking. We understand your role. We're not going kill you,"
'We're going to poison you instead!'
The torturer flinched but Cale kept speaking in such a gentle and calm tone. Roksu was once again bearing witness to the acting that Cale had at his disposal. Like always, it was impressive and worked.
The torturer carefully reached out and Cale took the torturer's hand, smiling behind the mask gently. He reached up, gently pulling the torturer into a hug-like thing, still muttering softly. Without a blink, he stuck the needle into the puncture and the torturer flinched slightly. Cale frowned, "Oh don't worry. This isn't killing you. It's a medicine we all took. There's poison outside right now,"
The torturer couldn't formulate anything as he shook and just collapsed, unable to move or speak as he forcibly shook. Cale placed the empty syringe away and bent down, rummaging through his clothes.
"Found it!"
He grabbed the key and closed the eyes of the torturer who had begun to lose awareness cause of the poison. Cale briefly wondered if he had admitted too much.
'Well- Roksu hyung said it didn't matter even if he dies, so who cares?'
A light shone over him and Cale glanced up to see Roksu holding up a torch. Roksu once again verified that Cale was uninjured before motioning him forward to the farthest corner of the cave.
Once they arrived, they could see a curled-up black existence inside this now-useless magic prison. It was the dragon. The thing that shocked the two of them more than the dragon itself was the blood covering the dragon and the scent of blood in the air.
Cale quickly approached the prison, expression twisted, "Those bastards..."
Roksu stared at the dragon who continued to keep its eyes closed, even as Cale approached. The dragon was probably in a state of chaos right now.
Cale inserted the key into the lock and opened the iron prison with a click. He slowly pushed open the gate and entered into the prison. It was pretty large to be called a prison. There were whips and other torture tools, as well as the luxurious couch that Venion sat on to watch. Cale headed to the corner of the prison.
A small figure about 1 meter long was lying on a stack of hay in the corner. The inner eyelids of the dragon were shaking as it lay there with its eyes closed. There were chains on all of its limbs, and the mana restriction chain was on its neck, making it unable to use any strength.
Cale felt his heart squeeze. He reached up and lowered his mask, crouching down in front of the dragon, "Hello there,"
The dragon did not open its eyes even after Cale called out to it. He smiled sadly, repeating softly, "Two years...hah...that crazy Venion,"
"It's time to go," Roksu spoke up, checking his watch.
"Alright,"
Cale used the key he had obtained from the torturer to undo the chains.
The dragon opened its eyes at that moment. Cale started to smile after looking at the dragon's eyes. It was a very strong gaze that had not lost its will to live just yet. That was not taken away yet. It was a gaze with a strong desire to live. That was why it was filled with energy, anger, and resistance.
It was the gaze of a dragon.
"What a good look," Roksu had seen it as well
Cale lifted the dragon into his arms, cradling the creature securely but gently. He walked out of the cage and looked at Roksu, "Old Man the injuries,"
"First, let's get out,"
He had brought(Cale had bought) a high-grade healing potion to use it, however, he needed to wait until the mana restriction chains were off. The would potion only work properly if the mana, which was as important as a dragon's heart, was no longer restricted. Roksu lowered his mask and looked at the dragon, who met the gaze. Roksu smiled upon seeing it and then turned to lead Cale to the other side of the chamber where the torturer seemed to be guarding. Outside, the battle was ending and the other three would soon join them.
As Cale held the dragon, Roksu started to pat the cave wall with his hand. He kicked the torturer with his foot to get him out of the way and continued to pay every aspect of the wall. The dragon growled after seeing the torturer but stayed still and continued to focus on Roksu. His eyes also glanced up as Cale brought a soft hand to stroke the top of its head, "Don't worry, little one. We poisoned him and knocked him out,"
'Venion's last line of defense should be around here somewhere' Roksu didn't bother with the dragon or Cale talking to it.
Like all the members of the Marquis Stan's family, Venison was extremely worried about someone intruding while he was inside. He had created a secret tunnel to use as an escape route if something like that ever happened. If the torturer knew about it, he probably would have used it to escape earlier, but, sadly, even the torturer did not know about this escape route.
'The novel said there was a flat area on this bumpy wallâ ah, here it is,'
There was a flat area about the size of a person's hand on this bumpy cave wall. Although Venion looked like he had OCD and would never do anything like training, everyone in the Marquis's family had learned martial arts.
'If you use a strong enough force on that location, the wall will open'
It was not a magic device. Instead, the force of the impact made the device move. Roksu turned his head to look towards the people who entered and asked, "All done?"
"Yes, Young Master,"
Beacrox lightly swung his sword in the air to get rid of the blood on it. Ron's daggers were already hidden away. As the three approached, they all turned towards the dragon. Balint and Beacrox both frowned while Ron's smile twitched, slightly falling. It was natural after seeing such a small creature covered in blood.
Roksu had never seen such anger in Balint's eyes as he turned to stare down at the torturer.
"Balint,"
That was why Roksu called out to his servant. Balint still sent a dirty glare at the torturer while reporting, "As you ordered, we left the escaping workers alone. We also made sure that all of the strong individuals would not be able to fight,"
"Good job,"
He pointed to the flat area on the wall, "One of you. Punch this spot,"
Beacrox stepped forward, "As strong as possible?"
Thinking back to the earlier sight of Beacrox and his greatsword, Roksu thought in worry, 'Are you planning on destroying the cave?'
"No. Control your strength. Just pretend you are creating a 10cm dent in this wall"
"Alright,"
Roksu quickly stepped away from Beacrox, finding himself beside Cale and the dragon. He stood in front of them just in case the wall broke in a messy way, sending bits up.
Beacrox understood the signal to hurry and immediately punched the wall with his fist.
Boom!
"Wow,"
"Oh,"
Cale and Roksu both let out different reactions.
Screeeeeeeech-
A chilling screeching noise came out of the wall and an area the size of an adult male appeared to one side of the cave wall. Ron quickly took the torch from Roksu as the black-haired commanded, "Let's go,"
Beacrox and Ron entered first, followed by Roksu and Cale with the dragon. The rear was taken up by Balint. The dragon remained quiet in Cale's arms, with only the sound of its breathing coming out of it. However, the eyes that were staring at Cale were still extremely viscous.
Rather than any gratitude for saving him, it seemed to be filled with thoughts of terror about being tortured by someone else, as well as anger and resentment towards humans. Roksu glanced at it and spoke firmly, "Stop staring at him like that,"
Cale looked down, seeming to notice the gaze. He turned back to Roksu, "It's fine,"
Roksu shook his head lightly.
'Hm, I'm a bit out of breath,'
It wasn't too bad, but he was definitely breathing harder than before. He glanced at Cale, who seemed to be fine. However, after another look, Roksu took note of the slight pant Cale was keeping quiet.
'Is he trying to not startle the dragon?'
Another thought crossed his mind, 'Should I have carried the dragon? Cale is still pretty young and the dragon is not light'
It was obvious that a less than 1 meter-long dragon was decently heavy. While it would tire Roksu out as well, it would not be hard if was able to get his hands on 'Vitality of Heart'.
Regardless of his state, Cale held the dragon protectively in his arms. He was committed to not letting a single scratch befall the young child in his arms. The dragon was watching him and Cale's black clothes started to become covered in the dragon's blood.
After running through that dark and narrow tunnel for a few minutes, Ron suddenly called out, "There is a wall in front of us,"
"Hit the center of the wall with your fists with the same strength as before. Then we will continue to run as discussed,"
"Understood,"
Beacrox pulled his arm back and put some strength into his fist, hitting the center of the wall just as before. The wall almost instantly collapsed and they could see the night sky. They were outside the cave.
Roksu took the lead as he looked around. This was the reason they needed the Mana Disturbance Tool to work on the entire mountain. Venison had put a magic recording device on this secret tunnel entrance as well. He was a very thorough person.
Roksu didn't know exactly where this entrance was located, necessitating the Mana Disturbance Tool's range. Speaking of, they did not have much time left. They needed to get out of the range of the magic recording device in the next one or two minutes.
Not that it was much of a problem.
The group followed behind Roksu and the assassin duo made new traces of their presence, or erased some traces as they passed. After hiding for so long and with growing up in an assassin household, they were experts at creating and following tracks. After running away from the secret tunnel entrance for about two minutes, Roksu glanced at his watch.
"Stop,"
The alarms that were going off in the area suddenly stopped blaring. The black orb had stopped working.
"Huu..." Roksu took a deep breath.
After calming his heart a little, he looked around and eventually came to the dragon. He then started to smile.
The rebellious gaze was gone and the dragon was looking up at the night sky in admiration. This was the first time the dragon saw anything other than the cave walls in its two years of life. Roksu understood what the dragon was feeling and wanted to give it some more time, but he could not do that.
However...
A soft giggle echoed around them. Cale patted the dragon's head once, his eyes raising and red eyes met the stars, "It's beautiful. This is the sky. It is a place you will be able to visit freely,"
Cale had spoken softly to the dragon. The blue eyes of the dragon slightly shifted to Cale, but the anger did not form. Instead, it seemed to just take in the words before returning to look back at the sky.
Roksu had let the moment simmer before breaking it.
"Cale,"
Cale, who was watching the dragon with a gentle gaze, glanced up. Seeing the look, he stepped forward and crouched down. He carefully placed the dragon on the grass, continuing to look at it. The dragon looked right back, finally tearing his eyes away and back to its current situation. Roksu walked and stood behind Cale. As the three stared, the blue eyes were filled with anger and resentment, as it curled its body up and looked ready to attack.
'No wonder it continued to get tortured for four years. It won't back down at all,'
That was why Roksu personally liked this dragon. It was different from himself. Growing up being abused as an orphan, Roksu, well, Kim Rok Soo, had given in. After that, he didn't want to be the main character of a story, like Choi Han. After giving in at a place he called home, he didnt think he had the strength to fight against the world.
"Hey,"
Roksu made sure the dragon was looking at him. Then, he crouched down, Cale slightly shifting so it was Roksu in front of the dragon. Roksu took out a pair of gloves and some scissors-shaped cutting tools. There were a lot of magic seals on both of the blades for cutting. He then put on the electricity resistant gloves.
This was one of the two items that had to be bought or rented in Billos's name. This was not something you could borrow with money. Cale had spent a sum and the transaction had to be recorded under a false identity Cale had given.
The dragon was just staring at him.
Cale frowned slightly, noticing how the dragon's eyes had stilled and its curling body had frozen, 'Trauma. He can't even ponder that its to get rid of the chains...'
Cale was about to open his mouth when Roksu clicked his tongue and approached the dragon. The chains were made with something similar to rubber. If it was made of metal, it would not have fit the growing dragon. That was why it was made of something with some elasticity.
Roksu grabbed the dragon's neck.
'It's better to be as quick as possible'
The cutter headed for the dragon's neck. The sharp blade shone under the moonlight and the dragon just paid attention to Roksu's eyes. Roksu's eyes were emotionless and peaceful.
The dragon closed its eyes.
At that moment, they all heard the snapping noise of something getting cut.
The sound of sizzling echoed about and the chains were causing sparks in Roksu's hands.
"What are you looking at?" Roksu scoffed at the dragon that had opened its eyes back to look at him and took off one of the gloves, handing it to Balint.
Balint put on the glove and Roksu handed the chain to him before taking a potion out of his pocket. This also cost quite a bit to purchase. It made Roksu feel bad for asking for Cale to spend so much just in the last couple of days before they left. Roksu clicked his tongue and sharply stared at the dragon.
"Do you know how much money was spent on you?"
The dragon could hear the same words he heard quite often. He had heard it almost every day since he was born.
Why do you not listen to me when I spent so much money on you? Guess you need to be beaten some more.
Then he was beaten.
They said he needed to stop thinking for himself and listen to them as they continued to beat him.
However.
"Since Cale spent so much money on you, you better heal properly, you stupid fool,"
The dragon did not feel any pain.
Roksu poured about half of the potion onto the dragon's back and poured the rest into its mouth. Thankfully, the dragon did not resist and swallowed it down.
Cale took out a handkerchief and moved forward, gently dabbing at the blood that covered the black scales. He didn't want to see the blood of this child any longer.
After a few minutes, Roksu could only think it was really a dragon. The mana, which was equivalent to the dragon's heart and the course of all its power, started to move in its body.
All of the injuries on the dragon's body instantly disappeared and a blue aura that seemed to be the dragon's mana surrounded its body like the wind.
This change made Roksu think about how scar and powerful of an existence dragons really were. On the other hand, Cale watched the sight with a proud smile, "There we are,"
The dragon should have no reason to get injured anymore. The smart dragon seemed to understand what had happened to its body, as its eyes came completely back to life. Roksu took a step towards the dragon. The dragon curled up while continuing to observe Roku.
Roksu ignored the dragon and asked, "What do you want to do now?"
"..."
Roksu started to smile when the dragon remained silent.
"I know you can speak the human language. You are a dragon. The smartest and strongest existence in this world,"
He asked once more.
"What did you want to do once you got free?"
"...I"
The dragon started to speak. It really did know how to speak human language. It was much smarter than humans. There was no way it did not learn the language in the last two years.
Cale smiled weakly, 'It must've learned all sorts of terrible words,'
The dragon almost reminded Cale of himself when he was younger. No- not only him but his siblings and old friends. Noble children learned specific words quicker than others. They learned etiquette without pause. They knew what they could and could not do very quickly.
This dragon had most probably picked up the words that signaled pain the quickest.
It made Cale think of Basen, who had learned quickly that the words "extended family" were not something of his, but rather something that hurt him. The thought had Cale slightly curling his fingers in the grass.
"I..."
The dragon could feel it in his heart. With his current strength, he could take down the two men in front of him. He was slightly scared of the men in the back- slightly curious about the man with glasses, but it would be possible for him to escape alive. He had gained the strength he had waited for so long to obtain.
That was why the dragon finally said the thing he had thought to himself over and over for the last two years. However, it was the first time he had ever said it out loud.
"I will live,"
He will live, no matter what it took.
"I will go away,"
He was going to go away from here.
He revealed his inner thoughts.
"I will not be tamed,"
"Yes. You are right,"
"Of course,"
Roksu and Cale were saying the dragon was right.
"You are a dragon. A DRAGON. You have the right to live freely," Roksu nodded.
Cale nodded, "A dragon is a great being. You, little one, ought to do whatever you want, however you want,"
Even a two-year-old dragon was stronger than most of the animals in the world. It had enough strength to survive on its own, and, normally, drawings were extremely independent and prideful. They generally wanted to create their own lair once they turned about two years old. It was completely worlds apart from a human.
Roksu looked into the eyes of the dragon, which still did not trust humans, and sternly started to speak, "I will not take care of you,"
He had no reason to look after something stronger than him. There were too many potential headaches to keep him around to pay back for their help. It was different from Cale. A dragon was beyond Roksu's limits.
The dragon could not trust Roksu.
"Liar. Humans are good at lying,"
There was now anger in the blue eyes. It was not directed at Roksu, however. Dragons were naturally born with a lot of pride. This anger came from the years that his pride was trampled upon by humans.
Cale smiled, "What a smart kid. Humans do lie quite a bit,"
Cale easily accepted the dragon's words and Roksu continued, "Live however you want to live. What is it you want to do?"
"I-" the baby dragon lifted its head to look at the night sky. It was different from the darkness of the cave. It was dark, but there was still light.
"I hate humans. I want to be free,"
"Good,"
Roksu got up from his seat. He then took out some mid-grade potions and a smaller pouch from his magic bag and put the potions in the bag before handing it to the dragon.
"Live freely,"
The dragon's black pupils enlarged and started to shake. However, there was still doubt and resentment in its eyes. Naturally, Roksu did not care.
'This should be enough,'
He freed the dragon, screwed Neo and Venion over, and saved the village. More importantly, he did not need to take responsibility for the dragon. He could see it in its eyes that it did not want to follow him. It was a good conclusion.
He spoke to his party members in a satisfied tone, "Let's go,"
He turned his back to the dragon with no regrets and started to walk.
Cale gave a final smile to the dragon, "Grow up well,"
He then stood up and quickly followed after Roksu. Ron and Beacrox silently followed, focused on altering their tracks. Balint, who hesitated for a moment, saw the dragon turn its gaze away from the two teenagers.
Once even Balint had turned away from it, the dragon lifted its head and watched them walk away, "I hate humans...they are evil..."
For some reason, the dragon was focusing on the race it despised rather than the night sky it was seeing for the first time. Its paw touched the pouch and handkerchief left behind by the two humans. He stared at them before lifting his head and staring at the red and black hair again.
Cale smiled freely, "Haha! I wish I could see the blood drain from Neo's face!"
Roksu shook his head softly. He then remembered something, "Cale, are you tired?"
"Hm?" Cale looked surprised, "No. I'm fine,"
Roksu thought back to the cave, 'I might've been wrong. It was dark and he does seem fine,'
It was probably carrying the dragon.
He nodded, "You did well, today,"
Cale smirked, "Naturally,"
Ron spoke up, "Young Master-nim, your swordsmanship is better than I initially presumed,"
Cale glanced back, before staring at his right hand. He spoke with a slightly questioning look, "Yeah, it was...fine? I was a little anxious, but when it all started and I swung my sword, I didn't feel anything,"
He made a fist and turned around, now walking backward. His eyes were sparking with determination, "Beacrox! I want harder training!"
"We can start sparing each other, Young Master," Beacrox was also very excited and intrigued.
"Yes!"
"No way!" Roksu cut in. He gave Beacrox a look, "Cale is 16. You are 28 and a seasoned assassin,"
Cale protested, "How come you're dictating my training? You don't even do anything!"
"Because you punk, you don't know the first thing about self-preservation!"
"Hah?!"
The topic forgotten the 19-year-old and 16-year-old fell into banter, shoving and bickering with each other, and light insults spread about. Balint shook his head fondly, while Beacrox looked slightly annoyed at being ignored. Ron observed the interaction between his puppy young master and the suspicious black-haired artist.
'There it is again...the black-haired punk has got the puppy young master to behave like that again,'
Ron shook his head of thoughts. For now, now that the dragon was rescued, he intended to continue the earlier conversation. He speaks up, turning to Balint, "You should probably go get the orb back,"
"Ah," Balint recalled, "Excuse me, then,"
The mage then broke from the group, grabbing the bickering boys's attention. Roksu asked, "Where is he going?"
"To retrieve the orb,"
"Oh, alright,"
Roksu turned around and slowly walked backward, "...and you? What do you want now?"
Cale felt the atmosphere shift and his lips pressed together. He looked back, displeased, "Ron."
"This," Ron lightly hits the star on his chest, "Where did you get this information?"
Roksu did not answer, only staring at Ron with the same emotionless gaze as always. The assassin repeated, "Roksu Nyphan, what connection do you have with Arm?"
"...so it is Arm,"
Beacrox's eyes had darkened at the very name, "You're avoiding the question,"
"Ha,"
Cale swallowed back his words.
He understood Ron's feelings. He had no idea that the organization was the same one that had massacred Ron and Beacrox's entire family, kicked them from their homes, and forced them into hiding. To see the same symbol on someone they barely knew, their anger and suspicion was granted.
But Cale didn't think Roksu was a bad person. He truly didn't. Maybe he's gone nuts, but he doesn't think Roksu has any connection to the organization.
Sure, Roksu knows a lot of information that is suspicious, but Cale can't just doubt him. Whether that be because Cale had broken his oath completely, or because he knew Roksu well enough...it was unclear.
"Roksu," Cale said, "Roksu, tell him honestly,"
"Whatever I say, they won't believe...am I wrong?"
Ron scoffed but did not refute the words, "You're suspicious from every angle. A stranger who gets involved so abruptly and closely with my Young Master, information about a captive dragon, an Ancient Power. All of this is just the surface,"
Roksu hid back his fear at the resentment and distrust in Ron's glare. He kept a neutral face, letting the words hang in. Glancing once at Cale, he met the same-colored eyes. Holding the gaze for a moment, he glanced back and said, "Your suspicions. Hold them silently until we reach closer to the Capital,"
"Why? What are you planning?" Beacrox demanded.
"There is a temple of the God of Death located in the capital," Roksu explained, "I will make you a vow of death and explain,"
Cale's stomach twisted, "NO!"
The other three all turned to Cale at the uncharacteristic panic and denial that echoed in the forest. The group paused and Roksu turned himself to face the younger, who was glaring at Roksu with annoyance and disbelief, "Is this something that requires such an effort? It's not true! Right? Just tell us this! I'm sure you're not part of some crazy organization like this, it- it doesn't make sense!"
He turned to Ron, "Ron! Isn't this enough? Can't you just take his word for it?"
"Can I?" Ron asked calmly, gaze untensing slightly when facing his charge, "Young Master, can I take yours?"
Cale's words died on his tongue. His eyes widened for a moment, an ominous feeling coming over him, "Wha- what? What do you mean by that?"
Ron had thought about it over and over in his head. Something didn't make sense. Something was not adding up. And there were things- critical things that only Roksu knew about Cale. Ron could guess with almost 100% certainty, that it was a reason Cale was so attached.
"Young Master-nim. What does this man know about you that everyone else does not?"
Cale's body went cold.